It only takes one person to make a difference
(May 2026 theme: It only takes one person to make a difference)

It was clear to most of the population in September 2020 that a second Covid lockdown was inevitable, although the government at the time was reluctant to either admit the fact or to disrupt our lives yet again.  
The Saltburn District u3a was still holding it’s update meetings via Zoom; due to the demographic of its members and no vaccines were yet developed.

The questions asked in the September update meeting were a) how could the u3a keep members engaged online during any subsequent lockdowns and b) were there any activities members wished to explore that could be provided online.

Many of us, including myself, had become familiar with using Zoom by attending the update meetings during the first Covid lockdown. I had also used Zoom to participate in virtual Folk Club sing-arounds.  To improve the quality of that experience and my own performance I had treated myself to a reasonable quality separate webcam.

Several u3a members stated that they had always wanted to learn crochet. A voice said ‘I could teach that’ and then I realised I had spoken my thought aloud!  

Thus, an online u3a crochet group was formed and demand grew enough for a second group to form.

I was able to place my webcam so the members could watch my demonstrations as if they were looking over my shoulder and saw my hands in the same position as they saw their own.  I also provided notes and short video demonstrations via Dropbox for them to refer to between Zoom sessions.

This is just one example.  Other people also offered Zoom get togethers for members.
I am still running crochet groups, now live not online, and am proud to have been one of those people to make a difference.