COVID can’t crack community spirit in St Peters

By KATELYN MILLIGAN

Life in lockdown is not easy, but one small community is making it just that little bit more manageable. With some creative thinking and a sprinkle of positivity, St Peters community members are making the most of their situation.

Countless acts of kindness are being undertaken throughout the community; from gifting cookies and letters, leaving free lemons and vegetables on the sidewalk, and even the local street library, filled with second-hand books awaiting a new home.

One little St Peters resident is making a big difference.

Joining forces with his part-time sidekick and full-time Mum Nicky, five-year-old Henry hand wrote and delivered 40 cards to random letterboxes throughout St Peters.

“Just a little something to brighten your day during lockdown – Henry,” the card reads.

Henry says he just wants things to go back to normal and hopes his small act of kindness put a smile on someone’s face.

“I just wanted to make more people happy,” he told the Independent.

One of the strangers who received the letter, Tracey, says it sure did make her happy.

“It certainly made my lockdown much happier that day. And we’ve put it up on the fridge now so we can see it every day,” Tracey said.

The thought that counts

Local St Peters resident Victoria was a recipient of a small gift from another thoughtful neighbour.

Victoria is a small business owner that runs the Urban Cooking Collective pay-it-forward campaign for struggling hospitality workers. She and her wife have been working back-to-back 16-hour-days just to pay rent.

After another exhausting day, Victoria came home to find a little bag hanging on her door. It was filled with gingerbread cookies and accompanied by a creative self-portrait from young neighbour Lucinda.

“It really made our day you know, it changes your whole attitude to everything,” Victoria told the Independent.

Victoria says this sense of kindness is not new to the St Peters community. In a neighbourhood where people tend to know one another, the current COVID climate has highlighted the importance of connection.

“It makes it a little bit more difficult, but I think adversity brings people together, so people tend to be really looking out for other people now,” she said.

Member for Heffron Ron Hoenig says he is not surprised that the St Peters community have banded together during this time of crisis.

“With so many in our community out of work and struggling to put food on the table, this resilient community has always shown a real community spirit in helping neighbours, local schools and local charities.

“It is a very special community,” Hoenig told the Independent.