Lockdown heroes who helped Chester communities put in the spotlight thanks to campaign

The Project a Local Hero campaign has shed the spotlight on dozens of people and organisations who went the extra mile to help others over the past couple of years.

During the pandemic lockdowns in 2020, Chester MP Chris Matheson worked with local civic participation group ‘Good for Nothing’ to collect nominations for Chester’s community heroes.

More than 100 nominations were gathered from the community, and the names of those chosen were highlighted during this year's Lord Mayor's fireworks display at Chester Racecourse on November 6 via a film.

The names are now being highlighted on Good for Nothing Chester's social media pages, while the film will be showcased at a range of venues in Chester in the new year.

Here are just some of the local heroes who are featured as part of the campaign, and the reason why they have been featured:

Helen Anthony.

Helen Anthony: Helen has been running Soul Kitchen and linking up Chester's best restaurants and the grateful bellies of the homeless in temporary accommodation.

Jimmy Roose.

Jimmy Roose: For running at least one mile a day through June to have run a marathon by the end of the month, raising thousands of pounds in the process.

Jamie Christon, CEO of Chester Zoo.

Jamie Christon and the team at Chester Zoo: Nominated by Chester Women's Aid as a lockdown hero for the work they did to keep Chester Zoo going.

Lilian Chapman.

Lilian Chapman: Lilian organised a group of people that made over 150 scrubs, scrub bags and face masks in the midst of the pandemic. She and The Sewing Bees made scrubs for hospices, hospitals and care homes.

Sarah Finlay of Milestone Mums. Image courtesy of courtesy of GB Photography.

Sarah Finlay: Sarah runs Milestone Mums, a group for mothers who suffer from mental health issues. During lockdown, not only has she been checking in on all her members and making sure we're ok, but she's also been putting together care packages for all the new mothers at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Prince Edward unveils the official plaque with Francis Ball, Chairman of Bridge Community Wellness Gardens and Farm

Francis Ball: Francis was nominated by Chester Women's Aid as a lockdown hero for the work he did as a farm worker.

Diane Clark.

Diane Clark: Diane and her team have worked tirelessly to provide resources and activity packs to support families and children during the lockdown period.

Ann Charlton-Toye.

Ann Charlton-Toye: She ran the Kingsway and Newton Residents Association as a community hub offering food to hundreds of families as well as a 'one stop shop' for everything else the community might need. She cracked on as soon as lockdown was looking likely and has been absolutely incredible for the area.

Elise-Mignon-Weir.

Elise Mignon-Weir: Elise is an artist and every day of lockdown for the first 50 days, she painted a flower to share with friends and family all over the world. Elise completed 50 paintings throughout lockdown and I know they brought great joy to those of us lucky enough to receive them. She also put a selection of them on social media for a wider audience.

Jeff Moore.

Jeff Moore: Jeff provided free Sunday meals and curries on a Wednesday to anyone over the age of 65 who was self-isolating. I believe he may have done around 1,000 meals all from his home kitchen.

Oscar Beech.

Oscar Beech: Oscar is 12. He made a bird box as a gift for a neighbour who was spending his 75th birthday in lockdown, whom we have been shopping for. As word got around others wanted a bird box. He decided to make and sell and donate £4 from each bird box to the Countess of Chester Hospital. So far he has raised over £340, giving up hours and hours of his time, whilst doing his school work.

Vivian Downing.

Vivian Downing: Vivian has co-ordinated a team of about 50 local people to sew scrubs for the NHS distributing all over the Wirral and Cheshire. She has collected, cut patterns and distributed material to her team and re-collected sewn scrubs before passing them on.

Ian '5 a day' Hall.

Ian 'five a day' Hall and all the stall-holders at Chester Market: Suddenly finding I was in the shield group meant I was immediately worried about accessing food. The stallholders in Chester Market stepped into the breach and gave me their contact details so that I could text orders through which they then delivered. They were all brilliant but if I was to single one out it is Ian from the '5 aDay' fruit and veg stay who, week after week, brought food to cheer up our day.

Una Meehan from Chester’s ‘Good for Nothing’ group said: “As a civic participation group, we promote the idea that people can give their skills and knowledge to do good in their community.

"With so many on furlough during the lockdowns, it was fantastic to see so many people use their skills to switch to being a ‘community leader’ almost overnight.

"We have been really pleased to work with Chris on this project.”

Holly Nelson and Uná Meehan, Good for Nothing Chester co-leads. Picture: Sam Ryley

Chester MP Chris Matheson added: “Whether it was the young lad in Huntington who baked cakes for his neighbours, or all the voluntary groups and businesses that cooked food for those who are homeless or were isolating, then there was the knitters and sewers that made scrub bags, masks and other equipment for key workers, and the everyday folks who simply started a WhatsApp group on their street and looked after each other – these are the stories that I have heard time and again.

"Our list will be by no means exhaustive, and we will all know a community hero in our area, but this list of names does represent the spirit of our city, and we will always be grateful for everything people did to help others."

• The full list of nominations and the film can be watched at https://www.goodfornothing.com/challenges/good-for-nothing-chester-project-a-local-hero

For details on where the film will be shown in the new year, follow @GFNChester on Twitter.