IT'S a sad fact of life that, over the past 50 years, the bonds which used to knit communities closely have largely disappeared.

People don't know their neighbours. We think it's not our job to pick up the wrapper someone else has dropped. We lock ourselves away until a snowstorm or a World Cup reintroduces us to the world beyond our four walls. When the media sees an act of kindness, it's the exception, not the rule.

Then you meet people like Gill Canning, and you realise there are people with the power to change that weary view, and the world around them.

The plucky grandmother conquered a life-long fear of heights by free-falling 10,000ft to raise £700 for Worcester's soon-to-be-built Acorns Children's Hospice.

Readers will know how close Acorns is to our heart, how families in the two counties who've driven to Acorns' Selly Oak home-from-home will tell you that the word "special" doesn't do it justice.

Today, we're happy to let Gill - and her feat - do the talking as the Bath Road facility steps nearer to reality.

When she took stock of her life, with three grandsons to love, it was the first thing that came to her mind. So she decided to help. So she jumped.

"I wanted them to know it's never too late to do anything in life," she says.

How right she is. Whether your inspiration is Acorns, a scout troop, or a needy OAP at the end of the street; or whether your challenge is a free-fall, a sponsored walk or a spring clean, there's always a reason to celebrate your membership of the human race.