Month: December 2021

It’s part of our mission and our very DNA to shout out about people who are giving back to others in the world – whether they are sparing their free time to support those less fortunate, or putting smiles on the faces of people going through tough times.

And then there are also those who dedicate their life and work to protecting our planet and committing to a more sustainable future. 

We’ve interviewed countless inspirational individuals over the past year – here’s a list of some standout people who deserve that recognition.

1. The 91-year-old fundraiser who won’t stop raising money

Retired engineer and civil servant, 91-year-old Peter Robinson left work over two decades ago. But one job he didn’t give up so easily was his voluntary position at Christian Aid. Most recently, after the pandemic started in 2020, he was inspired by Captain Tom Moore to walk 220 times around his independent living complex for Christian Aid. 

Read his story.

2. The couple who competed in all 96 Olympic sports in 17 days

Charlotte Nichols and Stuart Bates, who both live in Abingdon, Oxford, were inspired to do the challenge in memory of Stuart’s brother, Spencer. 10 years ago, Stuart lost his brother to motor neurone disease. “We wanted to do something big to mark this anniversary in a positive way and to carry on Spenny’s legacy of fundraising for the motor neurone disease association,” said Stuart. 

Read their story.

3. The woman who toured in an ice cream van to help the nation talk about grief

Annie Nicholson – a.k.a the Fandangoe Kid – dished out ice cream while having conversations about grief during Covid. Her colourful mobile installation – dubbed The Fandangoe Whip – aimed to encourage people to chat by using the comforting and familiar icon of an ice-cream van to open conversations about our collective mental health. 

Read her story.

4. This 7-year-old litter picking hero

A seven-year-old who is passionate about looking after our planet takes it upon himself to clear up the mess left behind by others. George Goode, from Norwich, is often seen out in his local area collecting litter from the streets and green areas. 

Read his story.

5. Sky Brown became the youngest ever GB Olympic medallist

Sky Brown made history by becoming Great Britain’s youngest ever Olympic medallist. Having only turned 13 in 2021, Sky managed to finish third in the women’s skateboarding final. “This is incredible, it feels unreal,” she said, after the win. “I’m so happy to be here. I’m blessed.”

Read the full story.

6. The man who climbed 5 mountains in 5 countries in 3 days

Des Lally, 46, from Brecon, did the trek to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and Help for Heroes. He was joined by a four-strong support team in a van as he travelled more than 1,900 miles, as well as trekking up more than three miles of mountains – much of it in the dark.

Read his full story.

7. Elena Brook-Hart Rodriguez whose fashion brand helps women in Peru

Elena’s brainchild – Handmade Stories, is quality clothing that improves the lives of the people who make it and keeps traditional practices alive – launched in April 2021. Not only is the clothing sustainable, but it provides work for women who need it most. 

Read her story.

8. Joseph Masembe, a climate educator in Uganda

Joseph launched a festival for children in his country, and then, the following year, decided to give the children a project called Little Hands Go Green. Each child received a tree to plant that they could see germinate and grow over time.

Read his full story.

9. The 84-year-old blind man selling paintings for charity

Harry Boddington, a former electrical engineer who lives in Solihull, painted pictures that were printed on T-shirts and sold – with all the proceeds going to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). 

Read his story.

10. The woman who fundraiser for a charity that helped her out of homelessness

Alice Kendall moved into the YMCA Downslink Group’s 24-hour supported accommodation in Sussex when she was a teenager. Since then, she’s not only gone back to work for the charity as a support and advice worker, she’s also been inspired to take on a Masters Degree in social work. That’s why she decided to fundraise for them. 

Read her full story. 

11. 6-year-old Heidi who took on a 603-mile walk for Alzheimer’s

Heidi Barker, from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, began her challenge to walk the equivalent distance of Land’s End to John O’Groats in March. She completes walks in her local area with family and friends then totals up the mileage and marks her progress on a map.

Read her full story.

12. Rae Snape, a headteacher who focuses on wellbeing

“I want my colleagues to feel a positive sense of identity and belonging,” Rae told us, earlier this year. “They should feel valued when they come to school. If we don’t look after the people who look after the children, who is going to look after the children? I feel like my job is to be the teacher of the teachers and I’m creating the optimal learning experience for them to flourish.’

Read her full story.

13. Amerjit Briah who always puts the planet first

Amerjit decided to quit her job as a lawyer and focus on creating eTHikel, an eco-friendly marketplace working with brands people can actually trust. She was inspired to do so after a family holiday to the Maldives, where she realised how much we really do need to protect our planet. 

Read her story.

14. ‘The Boy In The Tent’ who’s been camping since March 2020

Max Woosey has been camping out since March 2020 in his garden to raise money for his local hospice. Earlier in 2020, the hospice had helped care for Max’s neighbour and family friend, Rick Abbott. “Before he died he gave me his tent and told me to have an adventure with it, which is exactly what I’ve done,” said Max.

Read his story.

15. 2-year-old who raised £50k through a sponsored pebble hunt

Beatrice George, who lives in Kingholm Quay on the outskirts of Dumfries, South West Scotland, completed the hunt along with her dad, Matthew. “We were inspired as a family by Captain Sir Tom Moore last year, so in April 2020 we decided to do something a little different to try to raise money for the same charity, NHS Charities Together,” said Matthew.

Read the full story.

16. Lucy Todd, who’s driving forward sustainable kids’ clothes

While Lucy was working for the BBC on the arts and entertainment desk, she became more aware about the impact fashion had on the environment. “It’d never occurred to me before,” she tells Smiley News. “I found it so shocking, and knew I needed to stop buying fashion in the way I did. It was an eye-opener on a personal level.”

Read her full story.

17. David Pearl, who set up Street Wisdom

On a mission to improve the world’s wellbeing, David set up Street Wisdom, which is essentially an everyday creative practice you use as you walk. A smart fusion of mindfulness, neuroscience and wellness, it unlocks our minds and unblocks our creativity with every step to find inspiration in our everyday surroundings.

Learn more.

18. Marcia Roberts, who set a World Record in cycling

At 54 years old, Marcia Roberts set a world record by cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again, which is called the LEJOGLE. It took her 11 days, 13 hours and 13 minutes to do the incredible ride, and she was helped along the route with supports, friends and family. Marcia battled a lot through the ride, from Storm Francis (which came on day three) as well as saddle sores and a lack of sleep. She’s raised more than £10,000 for her local mental health charity, Mind. 

Listen to her story.

19. Matt Bagwell, who ran 21 ultra marathons in aid of men’s mental health

He created an event called ‘Run the Country Ultra’, which saw him run more than 1,050km across England in September 2021 to raise funds and awareness for male suicide prevention and World Suicide Prevention Day. 

Listen to his story.

20. Anne-Marie Martin who danced for 24 hours for charity

Anne-Marie Martin is a professional dancer and the founder of diddi dance, a national franchise network of dancing activities for children. In June 2020, she took on the challenge of dancing non-stop for 24 hours. She was raising money for national children’s charity, Caudwell Children.

Listen to her story.

21. The dad who invented currency for disadvantaged people

To give homeless and disadvantaged people a more dignified way to access food, he came up with a new currency – special coins with a code on the back assigned to different local businesses around North London. 

Read his full story.

We’d love to hear from you in 2022 – do you have a story to share? Do you know someone who is an everyday hero, giving back to people and the planet? Let us know by emailing [email protected]

Lots of people in our world have good ideas of how we can better protect the people and our planet – but not everyone has the funds to pull them off.

That’s why crowdfunding is such an important tool. It gives people the opportunity to drive forward their visions, and try to solve the world’s problems by providing the goods and services we need.

Throughout 2021, we’ve been highlighting brilliant crowdfunding projects that give back. Here are six of the best – all have been made possible thanks to people donating their money to make them happen. 

The zero-waste bracelet that creates change in the Amazon

The Yawanawá are an indigenous community who have lived in the heart of the Amazon rainforest for hundreds of years. The forest provides them with medicine, shelter and the resources to live. To support them, the Together Band has partnered with the community of the Yawa to launch a crowdfunding project for ‘Yawa Bands’ to be a symbol of hope for the forest. 

Together Band is part of the British sustainable brand BOTTLETOP, co-founded by Cameron Saul and Oliver Wayman, and driven by COO Jon Lee. The project aims to create long-term artisanal employment for the Yawanawá community at the heart of the Amazon rainforest and in doing so, support the community in their continued stewardship of 250,000 hectares of Brazilian rainforest.

Read the full story. 

The wind turbine that fits in your backpack

Shine Turbine is a wind turbine that fits in your backpack. It weighs just three pounds, can be set up in two minutes and has been created by entrepreneurs to help us live in a world where clean energy is prioritised. Designed and manufactured in Canada, the team managed to secure their funding for the project through an impressive Kickstarter campaign. “Our mission is to provide clean energy independence,” they say. “Shine is the first of a series of renewable power products created by Aurea Technologies Inc. that will provide freedom from the electrical grid.”

Read the full story.

The smart bottle that cleans the oceans

If you found out you could save the ocean just by drinking water out of a bottle you’d want to know more, wouldn’t you? Nick Doman, 27, and Will Pearson, 27, from London created just that with Ocean Bottle – that directly funds the collection of 1,000 ocean-bound plastic bottles in weight. Locals in coastal communities then turn these bottles into a sustainable livelihood.

The founders then went even further to produce BOB: a Big Ocean Bottle, which is a 1 litre version of the original. Their Kickstarter campaign aimed to help them achieve this goal.

Read the full story.

The debit card that helps the planet every time you spend

Your debit card in your wallet could make a difference in the fight against climate change – that’s if you have an ekko card. Oli Cook, 35, from London, has crowdfunded for his project, which – in simple terms – means by using an ekko card, you’ll be collecting one ocean-bound plastic bottle for every five transactions, regardless of the amount spent. A tree will also be planted with every 50 purchases and cared for up to five years, he says.

Read the full story.

The ‘mini laundrettes’ being creates in schools

Smol’s idea is to create “mini-launderettes” in schools that need them – they want to provide a washing machine and dryer and all the detergent they need to ensure no child in their care has to suffer from the consequences of not having clean clothes or uniforms. The company recently set up its very first washing machine in a primary school in Blackpool, and it’s already having a big impact. Smol smashed its £10,000 target in just three hours and burst through £25,000 in just 25 hours. 

Read the full story.

The wildlife device that conserves nature

Terra is hoping to revolutionise the way we connect to and conserve nature by creating one of the “largest community science projects” of all time. The small, weatherproof device can be placed in your garden, and contains a set of microphones as well as a radio receiver for radio-tagged birds.

By using the app, you can connect Terra to your phone or bluetooth speakers and listen to the world outside your windows. And you can also learn about the birds and wildlife in your garden through the app, even when you’re not listening. Or, you can listen live to wild places like waterfalls, oceans, rainforests and savannahs – wherever you are. 

Read the full story.

The power of reading and books is undeniable for children – it sparks imagination, creativity, and also allows them to bond with their parents or whoever is reading to them.

This was the basis of Doorstep Library, a charity that brings the gift of books and joy of reading to the homes of children in disadvantaged areas of London.

The beginnings of Doorstep Library

It started with a pilot project on an estate in Fulham in 2008, the CEO, Katie Bareham, tells Smiley News. The project was originally run through another charity – ATD – which ran street libraries and used books as a way of engaging with families living in poverty. 

Doorstep Library’s founding chair was a local resident in Fulham and a long-term volunteer with ATD. In 2009, Katie joined as a volunteer and joined in on the vision to set up a separate charity to focus simply on the Doorstep Library project. “Local authority funding was up for grabs,” says Katie, “I had time on my hands, was looking to get into the charity sector – so we set it up and it all came together!”

From 2010, Doorstep Library has been an official charity – they went from having one project, to having five across Hammersmith and Fulham. 

How does it work?

Initially, the concept was to use books as a tool to engage with families and support them to connect to other services in the area. For Katie, one of her biggest drivers is getting books into the hands of families that need them. “Not just giving them books,” she says, “but giving children and parents to enjoy those books together. Reading for pleasure should be a part of everyday life.”

The aim is to inspire both parents and children to explore the world of books together. Before the pandemic, they would recruit a team of volunteers per project – a project is defined by a location or estate.

Volunteers would go in pairs to houses on this estate with a rucksack full of books and ready stories to children in their homes or on their doorsteps – for 20 minutes or so – and lend them books until the next week.

[Discover more positive stories on Smiley Movement]

“They just knock on doors,” explains Katie. “It really does engage with those families who are socially isolated and aren’t receiving access to services elsewhere.”

During Covid, the charity realised that the families they supported needed them more than ever. “We didn’t stop, we adapted,” says Katie. 

Now, the charity operates two models: the home-based, doorstep model, as well as the online model where they replicate what they do in the home, but on Zoom with a pair of volunteers. Having this option means they’ve been able to branch their support outside of London, too – and they’ve worked with other charities to provide tech to the families that may not have access to it. 

The key is to try and get parents involved in the sessions, says Katie, so they can replicate it outside of the sessions. 

Volunteers in need

Doorstep Library is looking at growing massively over the next three years – they currently support 500 children and hope to take that up to 3000. 

And that means volunteers are needed – volunteers head to read to families once a week within London, or online (where you can be based anywhere). In-person volunteers are required to support a couple of hours once a week – or they can be stand-in volunteers, too.

The charity is also in need of donations to support what they’re doing, to help them keep a steady supply of books and carry on delivering their services to families in need. 

If you’re interested in volunteering, visit DoorstepLibrary.org.uk.