WPSA donated £2000 to Evelyn’s Gift, a Warwickshire based charity established in 2014 in memory of Evelyn Mary Smith, who passed away suddenly in September 2013, aged just seven years old.

Evelyn’s Gift has two objectives; to provide ‘little acts of kindness’ to people in need, and train as many people as possible in CPR and life-support skills.

The idea behind the ‘little acts of kindness’ is to do thoughtful and kind things that can make a big difference to people’s lives, but often lack funding. The charity’s ‘little acts of kindness’ include work with Myton Hospice, Children’s Community Nursing, local schools, youth groups, social services and night shelters.

Evelyn’s Gift supports families in poverty by providing essential items such as school shoes and uniform. It also provides essential toiletries and underwear for rough sleepers and vulnerably housed people, as well as supplying wash bags for victims of trafficking and abuse.

The charity also produces packs of resources to support bereaved children and their families, which include fiction and non-fiction books, as well as information about organisations that can provide further support.

In addition to supporting people in need, Evelyn’s Gift works with its partners, Warwickshire Hearts, Warwick District Community First Responders and Waterside Medical Centre in Leamington Spa, to train people in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED).

Helen Smith, Founder of Evelyn’s Gift said, “The range of ‘little acts of kindness’ that we carry out continues to grow and we try to respond to any crisis situation caused by poverty, homelessness, illness or bereavement. The funds from WPSA will make a massive difference to our small charity and will touch many lives”.

Hellen Dodsworth said, “Evelyn’s Gift is such an important charity for our local community, as well as across the schools within the Warwick Foundation. We encourage our students to embrace ‘little acts of kindness’ on a daily basis, whether it be at home, at school or within their own communities. Evelyn’s Gift allows us to engrain the values of kindness, caring and compassion into our curriculum, and we very much look forward to continuing our support in the years to come”.

Julie Moon, Chair for WPSA added, “On a personal level, Evelyn’s Gift is very close to my heart. Having lost my partner Paul to cancer last year, the charity has supported my family with packs of resources and funded silver jewellery featuring Paul’s fingerprints for our three children. These ‘little acts of kindness’ cannot be underestimated when a loved one dies, and we are truly grateful for the support”.