Doing your bit for women in refuges

In the holiday spirit of giving to the less fortunate (women’s shelters in particular) comes Project Shoebox. The brainchild of Kate Kenyon, Project Shoebox hosts collection centres across the UK to help donated, unused toiletries and cosmetics reach women in domestic violence refuges.

Project Shoebox has been bringing joy to women in refuges since 2013. This year they hit a record high of 40 volunteers. Image credit: Project Shoebox Cardiff

Mali Taylor-Powell, the Cardiff edition coordinator, said she first saw the programme when it was only a Bromley community project on Facebook in 2014. Thus, she could not participate due to the lack of collection centres in Wales. “But I was told I could set up my own in Cardiff and that’s how it was born in 2014,” adds Mali.

Mali Taylor-Powell set up Project Shoebox Cardiff, which distributed gift boxes to Women’s Aid, BAWSO and Llamau in 2014. Image credit: Project Shoebox Cardiff

From 26 November to 6 December, people can drop off toothbrushes, shower gel, shampoo, face cream and cosmetics at the collection hub set up in the Sing & Inspire office in Cardiff Bay.

“The Cardiff edition last year ended up with 370 boxes, but this year we are looking at close to 600,” exclaims Mali.

Refuges and collection centres

Here is what Project Shoebox is in a nutshell. Courtesy Project Shoebox

How to get the donation to Project Shoebox?

Donation station address: Sing & Inspire 11-12, Crichton House, 11-12 Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5EE
Donation times: 26 November to 6 December from 5pm-8pm, Monday to Friday, except on Wednesday, 10am-4pm Saturday and 11-6pm on Sunday
Contact: 07565 769 036

To help financially, visit Indiegogog. Although the project has reached its £2000 goal, the extra goes towards the Survivor Starter’s Kit.

Q&A with Project Shoebox founder Kate Kenyon

Founder of Project Shoebox Kate Kenyon

How did Shoebox start?
I am not a professional fundraiser but an IT person who lives near Bromley. In 2013, I had some extra toiletries in my bathroom and rang the local women’s refuge to find out if I could donate them. They enquired if the products could be wrapped up because the women in the shelters never got anything. This didn’t sit well with me.

These women had already been through so much and it wasn’t fair. I asked a friend to help with creating a Facebook page and it spread like wild fire. This year we are looking at reaching 55 shelters, which is about half the number that exist in the UK. The shelters we cover are from Orkney to Plymouth and across the country (see map). There are five in Wales and Cardiff was the first one.

Is Project Shoebox a charity?
This year we have a formal alliance with Bromley Women’s Aid who helped us meet professional standards. As we become bigger, we need guidelines to operate correctly when dealing with refuges. Security is imperative. We don’t put any sharp items or medicines in the boxes because some women have a history of self-harm.

We try to deliver the boxes to the administrative offices rather than the refuges. I am the only person that has all the details which I encrypt. Sometimes we are given an address as the office and refuge are the same. In that case, we don’t share details till the very last minute and once a delivery is made we tend to ‘forget’ where the building is located.

How is it funded?
We got by before with volunteers and I donated money too.This year we are running an online crowdfunding campaign for the first time. As we scaled up, delivery has became expensive. It is always a challenge as we try to make sure that there are boxes where there are refuges. However, refuge provisions across the UK are not uniform. Thus, the campaign helps to pay for transport and delivery. We smashed through this year’s target of £2000. The last time I checked it was £3200 and counting. But all the extra money will go towards setting up a survivor’s fund.

Women stay a few weeks or months at the shelter, but at some point they need to start a new life. It is difficult to get a job when you live in a refuge and leaving a violent relationship is financially damaging too. So being able to provide women with simple things like bedsheets, pans, pots and a kettle is a major benefit. So that is what the survivor’s fund will go towards.

How does it work?
The project is centrally coordinated by me. I have an amazing set of volunteers and people have been organising smaller collections in their offices, pubs, bars and social groups. This project has taken on a life of its own because people want to help in their own community. This is a doable project and people can tackle it on their own terms.