Dame Julie Andrews and The Why Workshop

From Rae Duke, Religion and Ethics teacher and broadcaster.

We’re just days away from it being completely legitimate to belt some of that Mariah Carey Christmas classic, enjoy your fifty sixth viewing of Home Alone, mull a tipple or two and yes – even put up the tree. Because this Sunday, is Advent Sunday and so the countdown to that most special day is well and truly on.

For many of us it’s a time of much present planning and purchasing for our family and friends, but its also a moment when the country sees a real boost in giving to those outside of that circle; to charities close to our hearts and causes we feel attuned to.

The Methodist Church has a theme each Advent, and for 2019 its homelessness and hospitality. The aim is to “lift the veil of stigma surrounding homeless people to reveal the real human heart beating underneath”, and there are projects that provide support for some of the 320,000 people in the UK currently without a home.

As soon as I heard about this focus I thought immediately of one of the most genuinely inspirational social media influencers out there, Joshua Coombes. (I guess you could call him a travelling hairdresser, community hero and movement maker all-in-one!)

Using the #DoSomethingForNothing, he takes to streets worldwide and gives free haircuts to the homeless, documenting the connections and transformations he makes as he goes. “On the face of it, it doesn’t seem like much” he says, but actually “you never know when you’re going to give somebody that love they need.”

I reckon small acts of love can make a big impact and these haircuts make people feel, as one patron put it after being handed the mirror, “like a new man.”

I so admire Joshua’s courage to get out there and, like the shepherd who in the carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ gave a lamb, just does what he can do, gives what he can give; haircuts!

It’s rather like the adorable story I read of 6-year-old Pearly who, inspired by Mary Poppins, of course made famous by today’s legendary guest – spent her Christmas Eve last year making goodie bags for those without a home in her area, and her Christmas morning handing them out. What a taste of ‘practically perfect in every way’!