As these pictures show, groups of Sheffield people have worked in Covid vaccine centres, cleaned up the city, stayed active, volunteered to help others and done all manner of activities for charity.
One of the biggest events this year was the Bears of Sheffield sculpture trail, which managed to cheer people up and get them out exploring the city while also raising the money to upgrade the Sheffield Children’s Hospital cancer and leukemia ward.
But there’s lots of small acts of kindness taking place too that often go unnoticed. If you want to celebrate some local heroes, just drop an email to [email protected]
1. Vaccination volunteers
Volunteer Caroline Poland welcoming people coming to a vaccination centre at the Mathews Practice, Sheffield back in January. Many hundreds of Sheffielders have given their time to work alongside NHS staff throughout the pandemic to ensure that Sheffielders can safely get the Covid tests and vaccines they need. Photo: Brian Eyre
2. Big Bear hug
The Bears of Sheffield sculpture trail ran from July to September, when 100 Little Bears decorated by school students and 60 Big Bears, brought to life by professional local and international artists, went on show around the city. The Bears helped to raise £2.75 million to transform Sheffield Children's Hospital's cancer and leukaemia ward. Pictured here are Caleb Masaba-Kituyi and his sister Faith. Caleb rang the bell to mark the end of his two-year treatment at a Bears event in October! Photo: Simon Hulme
3. Out on the beat
Pupils from the Oasis Academy in Attercliffe taking part in the opening event for Beat The Street Sheffield, which was a huge game to get more of us out and about by setting up teams to collect points by swiping cards or fobs at special Beat Boxes. It proved amazingly popular and a total of 60,133 people walked, cycled, wheeled, ran and scooted an incredible 452,870 miles. Photo: Dean Atkins
4. Helping hands
Sheffield pensioner Roy Helliwell, who struggles to walk, hailed a charity scheme for helping him to get his coronavirus vaccine in February. Roy reached his appointment thanks to Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC), who help users of their other schemes by offering the lift service, pictured, where they also stay with the person to reassure them. Roy also gets weekly phone calls from the charity’s Good Neighbour Scheme. Charity website: scccc.co.uk Photo: SCCC