The local business owners who sacrifice profits to help others

As the number of people afflicted by coronavirus has increased, so too have the acts of kindness being undertaken by people across the country.

Some volunteers have taken on their new role as a full-time job. For the past three weeks, Ayesha Pakravan has been working every day from 8am until 6pm without any breaks.

The 26-year-old chef is cooking and delivering hot meals for those unable to leave their home to buy food. Although her new London catering company, The Plattery, has lost all its business for the foreseeable future, she has used some of her profits from last month and money from her own

‘One man hadn’t had a hot meal in a fortnight’

pocket to cover the costs. She is also asking for donations to allow her to continue the service when her funds run dry, and has raised £5,000 so far.

“One elderly man hadn’t been able to get any food delivered except through me, and another said he hadn’t had a hot meal in a fortnight,” Ms Pakravan said. She added that, although cancellations by clients had cost her £5,000, “there are others having a much harder time”.

Other business owners who have suffered a financial hit in order to continue to help others include Ben Boothman, owner of The Flying Horse Hotel in Rochdale. Even before pubs were told to close, he decided to offer the hotel’s beds to NHS and other key workers with vulnerable family members at home so they could avoid infecting them.

“They needed to keep bringing the money in to feed their families, but didn’t want to put them at risk by doing so,” Mr Boothman, 38, said.

Unfortunately he has since had to close the pub completely. It is now being used by the local council to house people who have lost their jobs and become homeless because of coronavirus. Mr Boothman said his financial losses would be catastrophic “but at least we’ve done some good in the meantime”.