We spoke to Amanda, who said:
“I tend to shy away from anyone singing my praises- I very much just do what I can. I’ve been a charitable person since I was 12 years old so it’s very much a natural part of me. I tend to live by St David’s philosophy: Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things in life.”
“Things that are relatively small to you and I can be pivotal for someone else, so it’s really important to do those little things for others. When I joined Barratt Homes I was passionate about getting them involved in my charitable work, and they have been extremely responsive. My colleagues are particularly supportive of St Basils due to their help for young Mothers and children- we have quite a few Moms that work here, and we know that help at such a difficult time in a Mother’s life is essential. We don’t stop there though- we are also consistently donating to the St Basils Youth Hub, where people find themselves without a single thing. Donating items such as food, toiletries, and bedding really helps to welcome young people off of the streets to a better and more comfortable way of life. Barratt Homes have helped to raise funds and support St Basils wherever they can, and colleagues will always think of St Basils for donations. They never throw away anything without asking me first!”
Awareness is the greatest power of all. Myself and my daughter, who has followed in my footsteps, have been out on Outreach- walking the streets talking to young homeless people and seeing how we can help. We always have a kit in our car so that if we ever see someone who is homeless, we can hand them that kit which contains bedding, food, water etc- essentially a care package. I see charitable giving very much as generational- it’s passed down, and it becomes a positive cycle. The same has happened at my work- once one person gets involved, others want to too, and we can do amazing things together.
Small, consistent things can really make a difference to St Basils, for example, picking something up every time you go to the supermarket to make a donation later, or making a small ad-hoc donation or a fundraising event at work. You don’t have to move mountains to make change.”
All of us at St Basils want to sincerely thank Amanda for all of her incredible work in supporting us in preventing youth homelessness. Although she is incredibly humble, Amanda has touched numerous lives in the West Midlands. On average we support over 500 young people per year, so over 20 years, Amanda has helped us to shape 10,000+ lives by consistently doing these “small things” for us and for our young people. And we aren’t the only charity either- we speak on behalf of all charities Amanda has supported! We can’t thank Amanda enough for her amazing impact.