Katie Newell
Katie works for Black Country Women’s Aid and in her free time she runs a Facebook group called Random acts of Kindness Dudley.
Random Acts of Kindness Dudley literally blew up during Lockdown as it spread positivity and offered support to local groups be that through sharing of information or assisting in acquiring donations.
Katie utilises her current and pervious work roles and the connections she has made to help bring a little joy and happiness to those who need it the most. She manages referrals from various services to fulfil the required needs by utilising the power and positivity of the social media. Examples of such support include asking and managing donations for;
• A teenager who had a concealed pregnancy as the result of abuse to ensure mom and baby had items needed to support and help take care of them both.
• Starter kits for those leaving the care system or refuges.
• Bedding, clothing and toys to children rehomed with relatives due to Safe Guarding and the involvement of Social Services.
• Hampers for the elderly.
Katies biggest task each year is managing Christmas Gift Tags where she receives referrals for Christmas gifts including the gender, age and likes or requests of the service user and allocates these to supporters of the Facebook group or writes up tags to be placed on special donation trees which places such as Dunelm. Managing and collating such donations is time consuming and she often does this in her free time, her husband Carl is often roped in to collect or accept donations too. Examples of such requests are;
• Boy age 13, would like wireless ear phones.
• Girl ages 7, likes magic and puzzles.
• Mom, pyjamas or dressing gown in size 14.
Katies big summer task is a arranging a day trip to the seaside for over 100 services users of Black Country Women’s Aid. She utilises Random Acts of Kindness to get donations of suncream, beach toys and financial donations to cover costs in order to make the trips a reality.
This year Katie orgnaised 1523 personalised Christmas gifts for those who otherwise may not have had a gift to open Christmas Day. She ensures each gift tag is personal to its recipient allowing them dignity and privacy of an anonymous request so they get a gift of their liking.
This is something that we as a family have supported for a number of years and are always amazed at how Katie ensures such a large donation project runs so smoothly.