Captain Tom Moore has received more than 40,000 birthday cards from people around the world, with so much demand to celebrate the 99-year-old that a school in Bedford has taken on the role of a sorting office.
After fundraising over £28million for the NHS, his 100 garden laps have inspired countless other acts of kindness. Like, eight-year-old Reegan Davies who started a social media trend to thank Tom by sending him birthday cards. Now, those thousands of cards are being sent to a local post office in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, where Tom lives.
‘In all my years as a post master, I’ve never seen anything like this,’ Bill Chandi, who runs the post office, told the Bedford Independent. ‘We’re ecstatic for Tom. Whenever he used to pop into our shop he’d always say to me that post offices are at the centre of the community. I spoke to him on Saturday and told him that’s certainly true now.’
It would be overwhelming for Tom’s family to open every one of the cards themselves, so the staff at Bedford School – where Tom’s grandson Benjie is a pupil - offered to help do the job. Now, they’ve turned their activity hall into a mass mantlepiece for Tom’s cards – showcasing all of them in a beautiful display.
‘Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the school is helping out wherever it can,’ head master James Hodgson told the Bedford Independent. ‘Around the country, everyone’s pitching in to help and it reaffirms your belief in people’s kindness.’
And how did Tom, who turns 100 on 30 April, respond to the huge number of cards on his way to his doorstep? ‘I was wondering what had been keeping Benjie so busy! I'm looking forward to him sharing them with me next week. Thank you to all involved,' he tweeted.
Just when you think this story can’t get any more adorable, this happens.
In response to an overwhelming news cycle, Grazia will collate good news stories from all corners of the internet to give our readers (and ourselves!) a break from the constant barrage of worrying news.
We can’t hide from what’s happening, in fact we’ll still be covering the news on site and social and staying informed about the latest developments, but our Good News Worth Sharing series will be a safe haven and a place to spread some positivity.
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Good News Worth Sharing - Grazia
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