“If I can save just one life or one family, it makes everything we do worthwhile”

What inspired you to take the step into philanthropy?

My path into philanthropy is a deep-rooted seed in my heart. It has always been there, and I am lucky to have a partner who shares the same sentiment of compassion and a sense of responsibility. Over the years, my husband Richard and I received numerous requests for charitable donations. We were always eager to help, but there was a persistent question about how effectively our contributions were reaching those in need, and it was this uncertainty that ignited the idea of establishing our own foundation. The Covid-19 pandemic was a pivotal moment for The Caring Family Foundation that spurred us into action. It was a time of global crisis that exposed the extent of deprivation and child poverty on a wider scale. And being a mother, seeing the heartbreak and hardships faced by mothers and children resonated deeply. We realised we couldn’t stand by, we had to act.

During the pandemic, our Million and One Meals campaign galvanised our employees and volunteers to help prepare and distribute over a million meals to NHS key workers and as restaurants reopened, our commitment to ending hunger continued with the ‘Food from the Heart Campaign’ in the UK and later, ‘Amor Que Nutre Campaign’ in Brazil. Together, we’ve provided close to 2.5 million meals and have continued our work to deliver meals to communities in Sao Paolo and across the UK. In Brazil, the circumstances women face due to domestic abuse is heartbreaking and an issue that is widespread. Throughout the pandemic, I heard from my friends about the increase of cases, and I just knew I had to do something. When we got the opportunity to partner with ‘Bem Querer Mulher,’ a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, we built a centre from scratch with the aim to provide comprehensive support, including medical, social, psychological, housing, and legal assistance. To date, we’ve delivered almost 19,000 services, and our goal is to replicate this model in the UK in 2024 to offer vital support to victims in need. On a more global scale, while our current reforestation work centres on the Amazon rainforest, our work benefits the planet. With my children and their futures in mind, we set out to reforest parts of Brazil’s rainforests to help the fight against climate change. It was during our work that we realised planting trees is hugely important but what can really make a difference is the protection and support of the indigenous families of the rainforests. We are on track to planting 2 million trees, but this has also created jobs and sustainable ways of living for the indigenous communities, so that they have the resources they need to go on to protecting the Amazon rainforest for us all.

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