130 acts of kindness for our 130th anniversary
Norland at 130
Our aim
Norland’s charitable and community engagement activities continue to be at the forefront of our strategic vision. We hope to achieve 130 acts of kindness throughout 2022 and, to do this, we need your help!
You could be raising money for a chosen charity or volunteering in your local community. However big or small your act, we would love to hear from you. To round off the 130 acts of kindness, we pledge to donate additional funds to Children’s Hospice South West, a charity close to Norland’s heart.
Get involved
Please email [email protected] with a brief description of your act of kindness or complete our submission form, and we will be sure to include your contribution on our page.
We’re currently half way through our pledge!
Take a look at our list of acts of kindness below.
Acts of kindness
- Student Charity Reps Kiera (Set 43) and Maisie (Set 45) organised a cuppa and a catch up for Brew Monday.
- Norlander Allie (Set 7) continues to volunteer once a week at her local baby bank, Stripey Stork. The charity helps vulnerable and struggling families in the local community. Volunteers help with organising donations such as clothes packs, baby and new mum equipment, toys and games, cots and Moses baskets. Allie has also met another Norlander there and has been named Volunteer of the Month. She donates 3% of her placement fee made through her agency back to the charity.
- A member of the public rang Norland to say that they’d seen a student in full formal uniform sat with a homeless man on Walcot Street drinking a coffee with him. The Bath resident said it was a “scene of compassion” and they know Norland students look after children but was impressed to see a student being so kind to another adult.
- Samantha (Set 42) is skipping 15 minutes every day in February for the Stroke Association. Find out more
- Becky Gaylard-Penning, Finance Assistant is organising a shoe donation for Jolaurabi School in Kenya. Read more
- Neve (Set 42) is taking part in the Run 50 in February for Blood Cancer UK. Find out more
- Sophie (Set 32) has been nominated by her friend and fellow Norlander Hetta. Sophie’s son, Ed was born at 29 weeks and sadly died soon after. Despite this tragedy, Sophie donated all her breast milk to Southampton NICU in the months that followed. Hetta said: “That act of kindness to help other parents and babies while grieving something so awful herself is something that I will admire Sophie for forever. Sophie and Joe, her husband, although suffering themselves channelled so much energy, time and patience into giving back to the NICU unit who so graciously cared for and nurtured Sophie but also Ed while he was with us.”Sophie and Joe have gone on to have another baby, Maggie (pictured), who is now aged one. She continued to donate breast milk while also feeding Maggie.
- Els (Set 45) is running the Bath Half Marathon in May and raising money for the NSPCC. Find out more
- Head of Set 44 Harriet organised a ‘Palentines’ event for her set along with other members of the Student Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC).
- Lucy Krebs, Senior Lecturer in Early Years and Student Engagement Manager has set herself a running challenge to raise money for Stonewall.
11. Second-year student Morwenna is running the London Marathon for MS Society. Find out more
12. Norlander Ruth is taking on a charity skydive to raise money for Twins Trust. Read more
13. Norland’s HR department have launched the ‘Work Angels’ initiative where staff members are secretly assigned a colleague to carry out random acts of kindness for.
14. Heather, whose mother is Stella, a Norlander, ran two miles a day during February to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society after her mother, who trained at Chislehurst, is now struggling with this illness. Read more
15. Norland created a Just Giving page in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the Norland community to donate to. Donations will be sent to the Disasters Emergency Committee. Find out more about Norland’s response to the war
16. Norlander Louenna has raised more than £130,000 for families in Ukraine through her app. Visit her Just Giving page
17. Norlander Georgia-May (Set 40) has launched a charity-based sensory play class for children. Each paid place funds an additional spot for a refugee child. The aim of the session is to offer children a chance to communicate and explore through playing freely regardless of their background. The sessions are taking place at The Weir Link centre in Balham and can be purchased on Eventbrite. If you’d like to donate, you can support the class on the Go Fund Me page.
18. A group of Norlanders have set up and run a charity called Multiple Milestones which supports families with higher order multiples across England and Wales.
19. Rosy (Set 42) volunteered at her local vaccination centre during a day off. Her role included supporting children who were being vaccinated by reading a story to them, chatting to them and helping keep them calm.
20. Second-year student Charlotte is taking on a 100km trek across the Pembrokeshire Coast in June in aid of Coppafeel!. Find out more
21. In May, Norland launched LGBTQUIA+ community play sessions. Running once a month, students lead childcare and activities while parents and carers take the opportunity to talk, make friends and recharge. Email Emma Blythe for more information about forthcoming sessions.
22. Liam (Set 39) took time out of his weekend to return to Norland to deliver the Norlander talk at our open day in May. You can watch his presentation on our YouTube channel.
23. Kathryn (Set 11) set up a baking group during the pandemic. They delivered them to key workers, such as Gloucester Royal Hospital, Great Western Hospital, doctors’ surgeries, police stations, fire stations, hospices and schools.
24. Jenny (Set 12) and her family are hosting a Ukrainian refugee. Jenny says she and her family have learned a lot after having to apply for a travel visa, book flights, rearrange their home, collect from the airport, teach English, complete forms as well as much more.
25. From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to May 2022, over 100 families from Twins Trust were supported by Norland volunteers. The volunteers provide advice, information and reassurance to families who are unable to find support elsewhere.
26. Norland donated to a local community jubilee event. The event is taking place on 5 June, 1-4pm in Lymore Gardens, Bath.
27. Third-year student Rebecca is climbing Snowdon to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance after they saved the life of one of her charges last summer. Find out more.
28. Third-year student Aurora has been volunteering for The Nest Project throughout her studies. The Nest Project is a community group that offers clothing and equipment for families with children up the age of five. Aurora helps run a playgroup in the Twerton and Fox Hill areas of Bath once a week as well as teaming up with midwives from the Royal United Hospital to deliver ante-natal classes for mothers in the area.
29. Kate (Set 3) has been volunteering for a small charity in Cardiff called YogaMobility which helps people with disabilities to do yoga.
30. Second-year student Charlie is organising a non-uniform day and bake sale for CoppaFeel in June.
31. First-year student Eleanor (Set 45) used her first aid training while on placement when her charge got a piece of asparagus stuck in her throat and stopped breathing. Eleanor followed first aid protocol, remaining calm to save her charge’s life.
32. Third-year student Charlotte (Set 43) was at a festival when she saw a security guard collapse from heat exhaustion. She recognised the signs and used her first aid training to provide him with immediate help. The ambulance crew commended her and said the steps that she took helped keep his temperature down.
33. Third-year student Ike (Set 43) was working at an event when a nine-year-old girl starting choking on pizza. Ike stepped in and used his first aid skills to save her life. He commented that without his first aid training in first and third year, he wouldn’t have been so confident in this situation.
34. Kate Jaeger, Sewing Lecturer, made Ukrainian coloured hearts to raise money for the Ukraine.
35. Students and staff made a commemorative quilt for Children’s Hospice South West’s 3oth anniversary.
36. We received an email to inform us that two current students supported an elderly lady who became distressed and confused while walking in Bath. A passer-by drove them to the Royal United Hospital where the two students stayed with her the lady until she was attended to by hospital staff.
37. The Nest Project emailed Norland to thank second-year students Willow and Olivia (set 45) who volunteered at the charity’s Friday toddler group throughout their first year. They commented on how reliable and eager they are, creating sensory play items and baking cakes, working hard to set up and down and give incredible energy and time to the children.
38: Second-year student Willow (Set 45) is running the Bath Half Marathon for Cancer Research UK.
39. Second-year student Nicola (Set 45) has joined her local Greenpeace group.
40. Second-year student Livi is running the Bath Half Marathon for Barnardo’s.
41. Second-year student Lucy helped organise a buddy system for first-year students to help them settle into life at Norland.
42. Second-year student Nicola is walking 15,000 steps each day in October for World Wildlife Foundation.
43. Second-year student Daisy is running the Bath Half Marathon for Cancer Research.
44. Students and staff presented Children’s Hospice South West with a quilt that they’d sewn to celebrate the charity’s 30th anniversary.
45. Third-year student Morwenna ran the London Marathon for MS Society.
46. Second-year student Els ran the Bath Half Marathon for the NSPCC.
47. Third-year student Charlie has created a Norland UniBoob team to support Coppafeel!
48. Students and staff took part in a wear pink day to raise money for Coppafeel!
49. A number of Norlanders continue to volunteer with Twins Trust and support families with multiples.
50. Norlander Emily (Set 40) emailed to praise her friend and fellow Norlander Ellie for going above and beyond to support her nanny family.
51. Norlander Maysie (Set 40) does a lot of work supporting a charity called Choices Islington who support women and their partners through unplanned pregnancy.
52. Lydia (Set 42) ran the colour run to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
53. Lydia (Set 42) donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust for children who have suffered hair loss.
54. Norland staff and students wore pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise money for Breast Cancer UK.
55. The Norland Uni Boob team carried out a range of fundraising activities throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month raising £215 for CoppaFeel!
56. Rosy (Set 42) has been volunteering in her spare time for Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in her local community.
57. Lydia (Set 42) has been organising coffee mornings to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
58. Norlander Anita has been volunteering at Great Ormond Street Hospital during weekends for the past seven-and-a-half years.
59. Daisy (Set 44) is organising a Christmas shoebox donation to support Operation Christmas Child.
60. Staff and students wore Halloween costumes and had a bake sale to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West.
61. We received a letter from a young girl sharing that she wanted to be a Norland Nanny when she grows up.
62. Students and staff dressed up for Halloween and raised money for Children’s Hospice South West.
63. First-year student Jessica helped a lost person to get to the bus station. Rather than giving her directions, she walked her to the station instead despite it being in the opposite direction.
64. First-year student Juliette went to Medika, a small village at the boarder of Poland and Ukraine, one of the main points where Ukraine has been evacuated. She helped people carry their bags, helped with children, provided food and support while people were waiting to cross the boarder.
65. Norlanders raised over £500 for Children in Need by doing a sponsored walk with their charges.
66. Students wore spots and stripes to raise money for Children in Need.
67. Third-year student Charlie is organising a Christmas candy cane delivery to raise money for Coppafeel!
68. The Norland Choir performed at a remembrance concert at Bath Abbey which raised over £1,000 for the Royal British Legion.
69. Lucy Rogers, NQN Consultant, has been busy baking which has helped keep colleagues fueled!
70. Norland has contributed babysitting vouchers as raffle prizes to support fundraising activities at local primary schools. Each voucher offered the winning parent/carer a babysitting session worth £50 by a trusted Norland student through the Marvellous Babysitting app.
71-76. Dr Janet Rose has delivered a six webinars/keynotes on emotion coaching and self regulations to support other early years professionals and organisations which she does free of charge.
77. The Norland Choir performed at the Bath Christmas Market for the general public in December.
78. Students and staff took part in Movember to raise awareness of men’s mental health awareness month.
79. Second-year student Lucy volunteered at Santa’s Grotto at St Stephen’s Primary School’s Christmas Fair.
