Happy List 2021: How the Happy List changed my life

Ahead of 2021’s Happy List nominations opening, some of those celebrated on last year’s list reveal what has happened since

Olivia Strong (Run For Heroes, the initiative set up by Olivia Strong during the first lockdown, is now a charity)

The pandemic saw most of us batten down the hatches and avoid setting foot outside, yet many selfless people stepped up their efforts to help others. The Happy List 2020: Covid Heroes celebrated 50 of them, and here we ask four of those on the List what life has been like since their hard work was recognised.

Emdad Rahman

Emdad is proud to say that he has volunteered “every single day since the pandemic began”. The dad-of-three was a long-term volunteer in his east London community before Covid-19 struck.

“Through the scheme #bookbikelondon I have personally delivered over a thousand books to those who are isolated, lonely, elderly or homeless. Due to Covid I adapted the [delivery] service to include food parcels, medicine and even flowers. It has bought great joy and helped to boost my own morale and wellbeing.”

Emdad from Barking featured on the Happy List in 2020 (Emdad Rahman)

Emdad was celebrated as one of 50 great Britons doing remarkable deeds in 2020’s Happy List, after he was nominated by several grateful people. 

“The response to my inclusion on the Happy List has been phenomenal,” he says. “I was featured on The Russell Howard Hour, I had a Santander Cycle named after me, I was named an England Lionheart alongside the late great Captain Tom, and I received a rare celebratory medal from the British Red Cross. 

“I had so many lovely comments on social media, and my employer reserved a special mention for me at our service briefing. It was a proud moment.

“Being on the Happy List means the world to me. It was such a buzz to be recognised and to join a host of such inspirational people. It gave me a huge boost during the pandemic, especially with so many fears surrounding the spread of the virus.”

Lorraine and Lee Lewis

Since being featured on the Happy List in 2020, partners in life and work Lorraine and Lee Lewis - co-founders of charity The Lewis Foundation - have gone on to receive further recognition. 

“Being on the Happy List led us to receiving the Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award,” says Lorraine. “Our work had been spotted on the List which led to us receiving a letter and certificate from Boris Johnson for our work.”

The Lewis Foundation sends gifts for hospital cancer patients to help support them during treatment. Unable to deliver items themselves due to the pandemic, Lorraine and Lee found innovative ways to persuade companies to donate gifts directly to more than seven hospitals across the Midlands, as well as arranging activity packages to be sent to people with cancer who are self-isolating. 

Being featured on the Happy List also led to raising awareness of Lorraine and Lee’s great work. “We received donations - monetary and in-kind donations to support our work from members of the public, and it also resulted in other hospitals reaching out to ask if we could provide our services. 

“Since the Happy List we now provide our gift packs to hospitals in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire,” Lorraine adds. “It was amazing to be featured on the Happy List alongside so many positive people, such as Sir Captain Tom, who wanted to drive change and make the world a better place. We feel so proud to be on the Happy List”.

Lorraine and Lee Lewis, co-founders of The Lewis Foundation (Lorraine Lewis)

The Lewis Foundation has distributed 17,823 gift packs to the 14 hospitals in the Midlands. One recipient said “I am 86 years old and suffering with inoperable pancreatic cancer. Last year I was in hospital when I received one of the gift parcels. It brought tears to my eyes to think that someone cared. When I was in the emergency department this year, I was given an isolation pack. Filled with the most useful things and greatly received. It really does lift your spirits. Thank you once again for bringing a ray of sunshine to those that are suffering.”

Olivia Strong

For others on last year’s Happy List, the recognition became a catalyst for expanding their good work. Last March, Olivia Strong from Edinburgh’s Run for Heroes 5km challenge raised over £5,500,500 for the NHS - smashing her original £5,000 target.

Olivia and her team have since turned Run For Heroes into a charity. “Our mission now is to get as many people active as possible while raising vital funds for health and wellbeing initiatives throughout the UK,” she says.

“We’ve tried to continue creating positive change throughout lockdown by encouraging people in the community to keep fit, while explaining the benefits that moving can have on our mental health.”

The Run For Heroes community went onto raise an additional £1 million for different Covid-19 initiatives across the world. “Our plan is to turn the month of May into a celebration of running and fundraising. It will be open for all charities and people to get involved with,” says Olivia.

“Being featured on the Happy List in 2020 was incredible,” says Olivia. “It felt wonderful to see the Run For Heroes campaign being recognised, and we received lovely messages from the community after being featured on the Happy List - and want to thank all those who put us forward for it!”

Nina Andersen with some of the letters ready to be distributed through her scheme Community Senior Letters (Nina Andersen)

Nina Andersen

“I was absolutely delighted to be on the Happy List, it motivated me to keep the project going and to expand it further, benefiting more people,” says Nina Andersen who set up Community Senior Letters, a pen pal project that matches primary school children with people in local care homes.

“The project is now over six times the size it was when it was featured on the Happy List, with over 250 care homes and over 250 schools involved both in the UK and internationally.

“I have found so much joy in receiving pictures of the letters and drawings made by the children, and hundreds of thousands of care home residents have been positively impacted. The response to the project has been great, with meaningful connections formed through intergenerational activity all around the world.”

About The Happy List

The Happy List was founded byThe Independent in 2008 as an antidote to the lists that celebrate status and big bank balances. Instead, it honours the great Britons doing extraordinary things for others with no thought of personal gain, and who often go largely unnoticed and unrewarded. You can see last year’s Happy List here. Nominations for this year’s Happy List will open later this spring.