A CHARITY set up by a Warwick resident to support local children and adults in need after the loss of her daughter has been recognised by a law firm’s kindness campaign.
Helen Smith, founder of Evelyn’s Gift, is the latest recipient of Leamington-based Wright Hassall’s 175 Acts of Kindness campaign, and is using the charitable donation awarded by the scheme to support underprivileged and vulnerable people in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Helen formed the charity in 2014 after her daughter, Evelyn, passed away unexpectedly aged seven. Evelyn’s Gift, which is run entirely by volunteers, delivers its own little acts of kindness to people of all ages suffering from poverty, illness, bereavement, disability or abuse and provides training in CPR and life-support skills.
The £175 donated by Wright Hassall is helping the registered charity to fulfil requests not normally covered by restricted funding, such as a new pair of shoes for a child going to school.
Helen, who used to be a chartered engineer before launching Evelyn’s Gift, was nominated for the award by the charity’s auditor, who identified a gap in its funding.
She said: “I want to say an enormous thank you to Wright Hassall for supporting our charity, especially at a time when normal fundraising is unavailable – the donation will make a huge difference to the people we work with.
“The nomination marks the eighth anniversary of Evelyn’s passing, so to have the charity recognised at this time is a small reward for the hard work that our team of volunteers have done over the years.
“We do a lot of work providing children in primary schools and young people leaving care with the essential materials to lead a normal life, and our partner charities and organisations are crucial in helping us to do that.
“But donations like this and any that we raise independently can go towards random support requests that cannot be financed by our usual funding routes, and go a very long way in helping our small team to maximise its impact, and for us to carry on our work in Evelyn’s memory.”
The Acts of Kindness scheme was launched to celebrate Wright Hassall’s 175th anniversary and asks the public to nominate members of the community who have gone above and beyond to support others.
Each month employees from the firm select a winner from the nominations who receives £175 to donate to a charity of their choice.
Robert Lee, corporate partner at Wright Hassall, said: “Evelyn’s Gift provides an incredible variety of crucial care services and support to vulnerable people in the region, and the work that they do deserves to be highlighted.
Donations to Evelyn’s Gift can be made via GoFundMe.
