My name's Lydia and I'm a self confessed theatre nerd based in Essex, and a huge fan of the musical Come From Away.

Come From Away is about the five days after 9/11 in 2001 when 38 planes were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, causing the population of this small town to double overnight. The people of Gander, and other surrounding towns, opened their hearts and homes to 7,000 air passengers, providing them with food, clothing, shelter, and more, for five days, expecting nothing in return.

Watching the show for the first time in December 2019, I was instantly inspired by the kindness shown by the Newfoundlanders. Fast forward three years, I met my friend Laura Townsend. Laura saw the show over 150 times worldwide, championing its message, spreading kindness wherever she went. She was due to visit Gander with me and a few friends in July 2023 to meet the real people the show is based on. Unfortunately, Laura became ill in February 2023 and she passed away on 1st June 2023, never having visited Gander.

Laura's wish was to follow the UK tour of Come From Away in 2024, doing acts of kindness as she travelled. When she first told me about this idea, I was sceptical, wondering how on earth she'd pull it off. But when it became clear that Laura wouldn't be able to do this herself, I knew I needed to bring her vision to life.

So, in March 2024, the tour started in Leicester, and ever since, I've been setting up community initiatives and doing random acts of kindness in each of the cities I've visited. I've also been raising awareness of real-life plane person Kevin Tuerff's charity, Pay it Forward 9/11, which aims to encourage people to do small acts of kindness and see the ripple effect of good deeds happen in the process.

So far, I’ve donated supplies to a pet food bank in Leicester, bought Easter eggs for a care home in Liverpool, done a beach clean in Plymouth, donated 25 crates of food and toiletries to a foodbank in Southampton, bought some tea and coffee for strangers in Oxford, and cleaned up a park in Leeds.

In some cities, I’m collaborating with the theatre to organise a mass community project, and in others, I’m doing smaller acts of kindness that’ll make a stranger’s day.

You might be wondering: “How on earth are you funding all of this, Lydia?!” Well, throughout the second half of 2023, I worked three jobs, saving as much money as I could to make this tour as kind as it can be.

However, as of May 2024, my funds are running slightly low, and there’s still acts of kindness to be made in Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin, Ipswich, Aberdeen, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton and Salford. Therefore, I'm asking for donations to this project so I can continue to spread Come From Away kindness throughout the UK.

Every penny will go towards making someone's day in these cities, and any left over money at the end of the tour will be split between Pay it Forward 9/11 and the Gander SPCA.

You can keep up to date with my campaign on my Instagram and TikTok, and please get in touch if you'd like to help out with a Pay it Forward in one of the cities on the tour.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatricallydia

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theatricallydia

Thank you for your kind donation.