Holland House community group raising funds and lifting spirits during pandemic

This donation has been made to a local food bank

A Walton-le-Dale estate in South Ribble have joined together during the pandemic to lift spirits and raise money for charities.

Residents living in the Holland House area have been able to join a group on Facebook started by Chris Bilsborough in August 2019.

He decided to utilise the group in March at the start of the pandemic when he put up posters around the community alerting people to the fact they could get help via the group should they need it.

The group grew from 300 to over 700 members in just one month.

The group now has over 1,000 members and the number is increasing weekly.

Kelly Russel is helping moderate the group as it became quite overwhelming for one person to cope with.

The group have been encouraging one another to raise funds to benefit various charities.

There will be a socially distanced Santa Dash for St. Catherine’s in December, and the group intend to start a community Trust to help them further develop their area, such as converting waste ground into a social asset.

A running group has also been started thanks to the community platform, encouraging residents to stay fit and healthy.

The community all help and uplift one another, providing support should residents need it.

The community spirit can be seen in this collage, which depicts the scarecrow festival they held

Some have been shopping on behalf of other residents, helping fix things in each other homes and even helping form search parties for lost pets.

During the first lockdown, a community rainbow was displayed so NHS frontline workers could be proud of their efforts when passing.

It’s brought back a sense of community that many assumed had long disappeared.

They have collected money for food banks, raised money for St. Catherine’s and MIND.

The next community idea is to get an AED (defibrillator) placed in the park for public use.

If you live in the area and would like to join the group, click here.

Have you been connecting more with your community during the pandemic? Let us know in the comments below.