Why I chose to complete my degree ‘Catching Kindness’

Viewers discretion is advised: These documentaries contain real life stories some viewers may find upsetting. Not suitable for children.

For my final dissertation at university I decided to do something I was passionate about, and that is kindness. I truly believe that kindness in contagious and I wanted to show the ordinary saints on our streets that project kindness on a daily basis.

For the last two years I had been studying Broadcast Media Production, and for our final project we had to create a production for TV, radio, film or online.

I made it my mission to find people in the North East of England who are selfless and kind beings.

Throughout the process I met Tracey who runs Tendercare Rescue centre. Tracey used to work in a bank before she decided to give her day job to rescue animals.

Tracey began her centre running a cattery before she heard about the mistreatment of dogs in Romania. She now rescues dogs from kill shelters in Romania and re-homes them in the UK.

I wanted to capture Tracey’s story on camera to show how important her work is to the lives of these animals.

I also came across a group of people called Shining Stars who decided to help the homeless of Newcastle Upon Tyne. They packed up trolleys of food and clothing and walked around the city distributing these goods to homeless people.

Whilst making these short documentaries I felt so inspired because these people are true heroes. No-one made them behave in this way, they took it upon themselves because they wanted to do good in society.

I wanted to share these episodes with you this Mental Health Awareness Week because they show how powerful kindness is to people’s lives.

Shining Stars helped a man called Stephen get off the streets. They helped him find a place to live and they supported him through his transition into his accommodation. It is clear to see that they changed Stephen’s life.

I truly felt once I had finished these documentaries that I had caught kindness on camera, and my hope is that it has inspired some people along the way.

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