Solidarity - All Of Us First Scotland

All of Us vs The Virus 

We are living in a time of being tested and restricted. And yet, no matter how small our efforts may be, nothing is wasted, everyone and everything matters more than ever, and positivity becomes necessarily infectious too. Common Weal will be using this page as platform to share acts of kindness and solidarity in the community across Scotland. This will include information on what's happening around Scotland during this time to support our community, whether that's information on local veg deliveries or community organisation.

This current pandemic exposes the kind of economy, social and democratic failures that Common Weal policies are designed to fix. We are developing a Common Weal solution to survive this crisis and then rebuild again afterwards.

To find out more about the collective action and campaigning Common Weal will be doing to tackle challenges that will arise throughout the pandemic read our Director Robin McAlpine's article on how Scotland can survive this virus and our Campaign Officer Jonathon Shafi's article outlining the scale of the challenge ahead of us and how Common Weal plans to face it.

We can't meet up just now but we can use our social media posts to start conversations about hope, change and repair, maximising the positive capital people create together. So please send us stories (news, images, crowdfunders) you come across of collective action and communities supporting each other - so we can all read some good news and give these stories the platform they need - by emailing us at solidarity@common.scot.

Read writer and campaigner Heather Pearson's blog for Common Weal here, sharing her story of maintaining an All Of Us First state of mind, in Coronavirus lockdown and beyond. 

Crowdfunders to support

A local pasta place Piatto' has started a pay it forward scheme to provide free meals for NHS staff. This was originally done in store when people bought a meal but has since moved onto a crowdfunder.

ttps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/piattoglasgow-payitforward?utm_term=dYWma6B42

Milk cafe which is a social enterprise for refugee women and the wider Govanhill community has launched a crowdfunder you can support.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B92GhE-Feyk/?igshid=hvd9xlg5r5lc

Simon Community Scotland, an organisation that works towards combatting the causes and effects of homelessness are having a fundraiser for urgently needed resources to help those facing homeless during this time, support below.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SCSCOVID19

Collective Community Action

Kinning Park Complex have launched their KPC A.O.K (Acts of Kindness) project, a neighbourhood solidarity project to support their members and their communities across G41 and G51 areas in Glasgow. A fantastic coordinated community response to COVID-19. Their team of staff and volunteers can provide:

• Twice weekly Catch Ups from a member of our Support Team via phone call, text, social media or email.
• Delivery of cooked meals /groceries / other essentials 
• Dog-walking 
• Online art and english classes

Their next step is to organise the neighbourhood block by block into residents groups and associations by groups of blocks. Then helping people signed up onto initiatives like food coops. Find out more here or give them a call on 07544612437. If you live outside this area but are looking for similar support you can contact your local Community Anchor organisation to help you find similar projects nearby, find more about how to do this here: https://scottishcommunityalliance.org.uk/about/anchor-orgs/

The Grassmarket Community Project which supports many of Edinburgh's most vulnerable and are organising food deliveries of hot lunches for the community Wed - Fridays. Call them on their number here to get some support and one delivered. They are having a fundraiser which you can support here to help them continue with this great work!

Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland have recently launched a volunteer campaign where you fill out their Kindness Volunteer Application to volunteer in Scotland's fight against Coronavirus. There are a number of different ways to volunteer from making kindness calls to those isolated and struggling to delivering shopping to the community. Find out more here and get in touch with them for this support.

A member of our Common Weal Aberdeen group got in touch with us to let us know about all of the amazing initiatives happening in his home town, including from his local football team Aberdeen FC. The Clubs partner charity AFC Community Trust have teamed up with the Community Foods Initiative North East to provide a food delivery service five days a week to reduce Food Poverty in the North East. You can find out more and support them here. 

He also let us know about a team of volunteers across Aberdeenshire that have been printing visors every week to donate to the NHS Grampian, this has involved schools and engineering companies working together to support key workers. Read about it here.

Your Stories

Alan from Forres in the North of Scotland recently got in touch with us to tell us about the campaigning he plans to do to demand the government recognises the crucial work of Carers in communities - to demand better rights and career prospects for them. Alan currently receives visits from Home Carers from The Moray Council. He let us know how dedicated, sensitive, capable and professional each one of them has been while putting themselves on the front line during the Coronavirus crisis. Alan has been activist throughout his life and has written to his local MP to demand that they deserve better recognition, including a higher starting Salary and a career structure, stating:

"It has become clear - if it wasn't before - how crucially important certain jobs and professions are to us all. I am disabled and rely on four daily visits from  Moray Council Home Carers. With limited personal protection they are at the front line during this crisis and in the future. And yet they are paid little more than the minimum wage and work in severely demanding conditions."

Common Weal will be supporting Alan with this campaign, as always email solidarity@common.scot if you would like advice on similar campaigning.