Medway Smile Campaign

Citizens Advice Medway is spending this Easter lifting the spirits of the local community and those who have kept going throughout the pandemic.

On Thursday 1st April, Citizens Advice Medway began packaging and delivering thousands of treat bags for the #MedwaySmile campaign which continued until 4th April. Each bag contained a wide range of goodies including a newsletter on what we've been doing during the pandemic, a number of Easter themed treats such as hot cross buns and Easter eggs, cuddly toys, and more.

This was part of our campaign to “spread happiness” to key workers and others in Medway who had helped us and the community by going above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also provided bags to our hard working staff and volunteers who have remained active with our service throughout these difficult times.

We had multiple teams of staff and volunteers going out and doing deliveries. The deliveries were accompanied by a large social media push on Twitter and Facebook. We encouraged everyone who received bags or goodies to take pictures of what they’d received and put the image out on Twitter using the hashtag MedwaySmile.

We made over 2000 deliveries across Medway (and slightly beyond in some cases). Among the recipients were:

CAM staff & volunteers (including Trustees)
Kent Police
Medway Foodbank (staff, volunteers & Trustees)
Medway MPs & Local Councillors
Medway Council Housing Options Team
Our commissioners at Medway Council
South East Coast Ambulance Service
Arriva Kent
A number of Women’s Refuges
City Wat Osteopaths
Relate North Kent
St Mary’s Island Surgery
Gillingham and Rochester Fire Station
Medway Hospital
Many more

The campaign was a huge success and we were proud to have so many agencies recognise us on their social media platforms as a charity that has played a significant role in supporting the local community throughout the pandemic.