WE would probably all like the world to be a better place.

But Kerry Snuggs is making that happen, with an Acts of Kindness group, which helps strangers at difficult times in their lives.

It all started when she read on Facebook that a young woman who had recently been bereaved had lost her wedding rings.

Kerry, who lives in Titchfield with her husband Gabe and seven-month old baby Elijah, set up a small group on the social media site to help coordinate people to look for the rings.

After the rings were found, independently of the group, she read a story about a young girl who had been injured on some barbed wire in a local park and invited members of the group to put a gift parcel together for her.

That was 18 months ago.

Since then, the group has grown from 15 members to almost 1,400, and has helped a large number of local people, through everything from donating baby clothes to the local women's refuge to overhauling a back garden and collecting household items, clothing and money for a man whose caravan, in which he lived, burnt down.

"I'd done stuff in the past for the homeless shelter and the women's refuge, so we started collecting for them," she explains of the group, which was renamed Acts of Kindness Locks Heath/Titchfield/Warsash/Whiteley.

"It's grown and grown. Now we do regular collections for them and also the local food bank if they're in dire need.

"We also hear about various individuals and families who need help."

One of the projects that Kerry has been most pleased with was in association with the Footsteps 4 Oliver appeal for a local child with cerebral palsy.

"The family's garden needed to be totally revamped for him to use," says Kerry.

"I put a shout out to some DIY stores and the community to see what we could do. We raised some funds to pay for some bits and pieces, I had some donations from a local shop and got the community together to actually do the work in the garden. I was amazed at how it all came together."

Other projects have included collecting for a gift package for a well known local lollipop lady and helping families moving from temporary to rented accommodation with household items.

Individuals either get in touch with Kerry to ask for help or are highlighted to her by other members of the community.

Generally she goes to meet them to see what they need and also give members of the community the confidence that requests are genuine.

"Recently someone in the community saw that a woman had posted a desperate plea for boxes to move," she explains.

"Often it starts like that. I contacted them to see if there was anything else we could do to help. I went round to see her and she explained that as well as her young daughter being very ill in hospital with kidney problems, she'd lost her baby last year, which was especially touching for me as I'd just had a baby myself.

"The family was in the middle of trying to move house, were going backwards and forwards to hospital and having to spend a lot of money on things like parking.

"I organised a cooking rota, so people were taking over hot meals for the family and a food collection as they'd had to turn to food banks.

"We also collected some money towards hospital parking. Then one of our members, Dale Wilton Transport, offered to move them free of charge, and someone else offered to paint for them, so it all came together.

"The latest shout outs I've got are for clothing and shoes for a gent who was homeless and is now in temporary accommodation and a family moving from temporary to rented accommodation, who need some kitchen things."

Although the group does sometimes collect money, it is based more around collecting items and volunteering time.

Kerry was relatively new to the area when she started the Facebook group, having only moved to Titchfield four months earlier, and has found that a great by-product of running it has been the friends she has made.

"I love it," she enthuses.

"I love the fact that the community is coming together. I've met so many people through it and it realise true that small things do matter. Those are the things that are making a difference.

"People say it's nice to know where these things are going that they've put their time and energy into.

"It's nice to know it's helping the local community and is helping bring community spirit back," she continues.

"Sometimes I do get tired because of doing it alongside having a young baby but I've made some lovely friends through it.

"Quite a few people have got to know each other through the group, like at the gardening event.

"They might have rubbed shoulders before but not known each other, but they get to talk to each other and make new friends."

Kerry says she has always felt it was important to help others and is delighted that the group is allowing her and others to come together to make a real difference in people's lives.

"The world isn't a very nice place at the moment and I feel like we're making a difference in a small way," she says.

"For the individual we're helping, it's a big difference.

"I don't like the thought of people being out there struggling and alone."

At the moment Kerry coordinates the group alone but will be looking for more people to help run it, particularly when she returns to work after her maternity leave.

"It does take quite a lot of time but I really enjoy it," she says.

"It's something I'm really passionate about. I don't want to sit in front of the TV or anything.

"I know it sounds really cliche, but my little one's got to grow up in this community, in this world, so I want to do what I can for him as well, to make it better and encourage other people to do the same.

"There have been so many things we've done, I could go on about them all day," she adds.

"They all have something special about them.

"But the thing I really need to emphasise is that it's a team effort. It wouldn't work without the community. It's the group coming together that makes it work."

*For more information, search for Acts of Kindness Locks Heath/Titchfield/Warsash Whitely on Facebook.

Kerry is appealing for a van/sponsorship of a van and somewhere to store donated items to allow the group to help more people. Contact her via email: actsofkindnessteam@outlook.com