What are you grateful for?

A new platform is aiming to bring humanity together in gratitude at a time of crisis 

When Australian tech-philanthropist Don Amal Francis and his family were caught in the epicentre of the pandemic in Spain back in March, their holiday plans were put on hold. 

Cooped up in a hotel room for over 100 days, Amal Frances became overwhelmed, fearful and depressed watching the crisis unfold around him. 

But witnessing the sacrifices being made by frontline healthcare workers, he developed an overwhelming appreciation for their work and knew he had to find a way to show gratitude in solidarity. 

To mark World Gratitude Day on 21 September, he has launched a dedicated platform for people across the globe to express their messages of gratitude, designed to bring humanity together at a time of crisis. 

“In the end we had to acknowledge that we felt like we were not as good as these individuals, so we shifted the focus to our unique strengths and capabilities, we wanted to do something for this amazing group of people as our ‘bit’… our contribution,” Amal Frances said. 

Available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Korean, Japanese and Italian, the posts range from smaller, personal messages such as thanking a local cafe for a great choc chip cookie, to being grateful for having an income during the crisis, or thanking emergency services for always being there in tough times. 

Individuals are not required to sign up or register, and are able to track the impact of their message after posting.    

Amal Frances said his vision for the platform was for the community, and frontline and essential workers to embrace it as their own. 

“Share Gratitude will be the place that we all connect with each other in a positive and relevant manner – reminding us every day that we have a lot to be thankful for,” he said. 

Want to post your own message of gratitude? Head to the website here.