This month's Glossybox comes with a postcard encouraging you to reuse your box and fill it with essentials for Give and Makeup. I'm thrilled that Glossybox have decided to partner with us at this time of year in particular, usually the busiest in women's domestic violence shelters. We'll be partnering up on various projects throughout the month to continue to raise awareness of the families and their needs.
Our campaign for 2016 is now live. As always, the children need all of the following:
Pyjamas, clothing, slippers, books, crayons, colouring books, suitable dvd's (they will be checked), toys, sweets, chocolate, magazines, comics, dolls - pretty much anything that you know a child/young person will appreciate.
Please ensure the following:
gifts are suitable for ages between newborn and 15
no toy weapons
no items of a religious nature
new or nearly new please
boxes can be packed according to one child/gender or a mixture across all ages
For the first time, this year's Shoebox Campaign has been brilliantly supported by the very talented and generous team at DewGibbons + Partners.
'DewGibbons + Partners are the beautiful thinking agency. Give and MakeUp addresses a cause very close to our hearts and is an initiative that deserves everyone's full attention, we couldn’t help but give it all of our support.'
I cannot thank them enough for their hard work, dedication, professionalism and generosity of time, talent and spirit. www.dewgibbons.com
Please excuse the change of content for today, but I really need to update some information for Give and Makeup. I spent time with the team at Refuge today and there are a few issues that I have clarified/updated on the dedicated Give and Makeup here: carolinehirons.com/give-and-makeup but in short they are:
Postal charges. None of the addresses are freepost addresses. We have had a lot of parcels sent recently with either insufficient or in some cases, no postage. The team at Refuge have been picking up the slack out of their own pockets, in some cases large boxes have been sent incurring charges upwards of £40.00. Going forward, any parcels sent with insufficient postage will either be returned to sender, or if that is not possible, destroyed by the post office in their usual manner. Please check your postage is correct before you send.
Dirty/really old underwear. Good quality second-hand is fine (and much appreciated), but dirty, really old underwear is not needed. Seriously. Thank you.
Lipsticks. Please remember that lipsticks need to be nearly new or new, not almost finished or sent with a broken bullet.
We have exciting things happening with Give and Makeup in the next month, including the shoebox campaign, and we are so, so grateful for all your support, and thank you in advance for taking these things into consideration.
I know there are a lot of new readers who may not have read about Give and Makeup yet, or long-standing readers who don't mind a gentle reminder, so forgive me if I give it a quick plug now.
We accept anything and everything from clothing to makeup to baby clothing to tampons.
We support Women's Aid, Refuge and CGL. These charities support women and children in/escaping domestic violence situations and people struggling with homelessness, addiction, escaping sex trafficking.
The products are sent directly to the charities involved, they do not go through me.
We are not a charity, we do not accept cash donations. We are a grass-roots initiative.
Your donations have helped thousands of people in the five and a half years we have been going.
What we still need:
Nationwide coverage and help - we have Wales and Central/West London taken care of. We need locations in the North of England, Brighton, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
PRs - please ask your appropriate brands for donations - anything and everything from old packaging to seconds in clothing.
Brands/Retailers - we'll have your returns/excess stock. Please don't send it to landfill.
If you are a business with a suitable posting address and space to accept parcels, please let us know.
And finally, we are unable to organise anything outside of the UK, please feel free to organise your own version of Give and Makeup in your country. The need is worldwide.
All further info/posting information for Give and Makeup is here: Give and Makeup
I just came back from a Refuge drop off and have an update regarding their current families in need. This is their busiest time of year but they have had a recent influx of young girls under the age of 10 - between 2 and 8 especially.
These children turned up with literally the clothes on their back, nothing more. If you can spare any of the following and post them to the below address it would be hugely helpful in giving these children some comfort in what is supposed to be one of the happiest times of the year for little ones.
When thinking about what to send for children (and the women for that matter) the easiest way is to look at what you use from the moment you wake up.
They need:
Pyjamas
Underwear
Vests
Tights
Skirts
Trousers
Tops
Sweaters
Cardigans
Coats
Shoes
Second hand is obviously fine, but please do make sure they are clean. It only causes additional work (and cost) for an already-stretched team if they have to wash everything.
And then any kind of suitable toys and DVDs. Nothing graphic, no play guns etc and no violent films. Educational children's DVDs, puzzles, games, dolls - anything.
These children have nothing.
Neither do their mothers, but they are particularly short of things for small people at the present time.
Give and Makeup c/o
Pardip Barmi
PO BOX 855
LONDON
W4 4AW
I am updating the Give and Makeup page right now to reflect the seasonal need. All your questions can be answered there but I will obviously answer any that I can in the comments.
Time goes so quickly - I can't believe it's nearly Christmas again and that Give and Makeup is 5 years old.
For newer readers, Give and Makeup is something I started to support women and children in Refuge and Women's Aid shelters across the UK.
Last year we also started supporting the CRI Outreach Project in North London. CRI helps people of all ages that are vulnerable in communities through homelessness, abuse or addiction. More info on CRI can be found here.
Every year we ask for extra donations for the families in the shelters, particularly the children, who have frequently had to leave their homes with absolutely none of the possessions.
Further info on sending parcels to Refuge/Women's Aid:
gifts need to be suitable for ages between newborn and 15
all clothing is welcome especially pyjamas and coats
baby vests/babygros/blankets
no toy weapons please
no borderline 'sexy' items of underwear (it has happened in the past)
no items of a religious nature
new or nearly new please
boxes can be packed according to one child/gender or a mixture across all ages
please don't worry about wrapping anything as it will all have to be checked thoroughly before being given to the children
For the ladies in shelters:
new or 'as good as new' underwear of all sizes - including bras. Please ensure it is washed and clean.
makeup - mascaras and lip glosses preferably new for hygiene reasons - everything else can be lightly used
skincare
bath and body
For the homeless ladies via CRI:
Underwear - bras and knickers. Washed and clean please. We all have underwear that no longer fits us in our drawers. And it's not heavy to post!
Feminine hygiene products. Sanitary towels, tampons, washes and wipes. Desperately. If you work in the industry and have access to these items please ask your CSR department to consider helping these women.
toothbrushes/toothpaste/deodorant
hairbrushes/shampoo/conditioner/dry shampoo
Coats
Boots
Scarves/gloves
General basics - jeans/leggings/t-shirts/jumpers
As a rule of thumb, we accept pretty much anything - these people have next to nothing or literally nothing. Also: CRI accept monetary donations. You can email Nicola for further information. Give and Makeup does not accept donations of money and I have no contact with CRI donations. We're just the messenger/facilitator.
All addresses are on the separate Give and Makeup page on the tabs above.
If you are a PR or brand that knows how to contact me privately and wants to help in any way please do give me a shout.
Give and Makeup only operates in the UK. If you live abroad and are interested in sending parcels - of course we happily accept them but I would urge you to start your own donation-led programme in your country. Homelessness and domestic violence is a worldwide problem.
As with the last 4 years, we are running a Christmas Shoebox Campaign for the children and young people living in domestic violence shelters across London. They are sadly busier than ever and this year need your support even more than in previous years.
They can have anything - pyjamas, clothing, slippers, books, crayons, colouring books, suitable dvd's (they will be checked anyway), toys, sweets, chocolate, magazines - pretty much anything that you know a child/young person will appreciate.
As always please ensure the following:
gifts are suitable for ages between newborn and 15
no toy weapons
no borderline 'sexy' items of underwear (it has happened in the past)
no items of a religious nature
new or nearly new please
boxes can be packed according to one child/gender or a mixture across all ages
Please send your donations to:
Give and Makeup c/o Pardip Barmi PO BOX 855 LONDON W4 4AW
Thank you so much for your continued support. You are changing people's lives.
Long time readers of this blog will know that I started Give and Makeup as a vessel to direct the excess of product that I had to good causes. Notably Refuge and Women's Aid. Today I am thrilled to announce that we are extending our support to the brilliant work carried out by the CRI (Crime Reduction Initiatives) in North London.
CRI is a National health and social care charity working with individuals, families and communities across England and Wales that are affected by drugs, alcohol, crime, homelessness, domestic abuse and antisocial behaviour. We will particularly be supporting their work with their EXIT project that aims to move sex workers out of prostitution by offering advice on
substance misuse, alcohol, physical health, mental health, housing, education
and employment.
It emphasises assertive outreach by engaging a client group
that is traditionally not represented within substance misuse or health
services. Service users accessing the project will be offered a safe
environment to discuss their needs with a dedicated keyworker, who will provide
one-to-one support to break down the barriers to leaving the sex industry.
These women, in a lot of cases, have nothing. And to walk away sometimes means literally having the clothes on their back. We are helping by giving them everyday essentials to build their confidence and allow them to focus on recovery.
In particular this group need the following:
Underwear - bras and knickers. Washed and clean please! We all have underwear that no longer fits us in our drawers. And it's not heavy to post!
Feminine hygiene products. Sanitary towels, tampons, washes and wipes. Desperately. If you work in the industry and have access to these items please ask your CSR department to consider helping these women.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Give and Makeup is nearly 4 years strong and we have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of goods to needy causes.
Please consider helping us. Thank you for your continued support.
Sadly I had to move out of my office this month. The building has been sold and the knock-on effect is that I have nowhere to do skin consultations and obviously my posting address has changed.
My new posting details are available from Diary Directory. Any PR's that don't have access to DD can email me here (this is no good for skin questions!!).
Thank you to all of the hundreds (literally!) of people that came to see me for skin consults while I was based in W11. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. No news on dates for this year yet - and to be completely honest I'm not planning any until the Autumn - I'm working, blogging and hanging out with my kids over summer. (Well, I'm always hanging out with my kids but you know what I mean...)
Please note that the old office address will be a building site (kinda) from this weekend so please don't send anything for Give and Makeup there. The Manchester and Cardiff addresses are still accepting parcels. No such luck on a large space to accept parcels in London yet. If only I knew literally hundreds of brands and retailers with spare space that they could offer up?! Oh. Wait. I do. Nothing yet, regardless. Will keep you posted.
Here's to a wonderful summer (unless you're Australian)!
I usually keep Give and Makeup separate from the blog but its that time of year again and we have just kicked off our Shoebox Campaign for the children in the refuges/outreach projects.
We also have a new London posting address so below is some text lifted from the original post over on GiveandMakeup.com for ease....
All parcels for Give and Makeup can now be sent to:
Give and Makeup See page on tab above. We are asking once again, for shoeboxes containing gifts suitable for children aged from newborn to mid-teens.
They can have anything - pyjamas, clothing, books, crayons, colouring books, suitable dvd's (they will be checked anyway), toys, sweets, chocolate, magazines - pretty much anything that you know a child will appreciate.
Please, please, spread the word and give what you can. I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it is to see these children in the shelters with absolutely nothing. Yes, they are of course safe from harm, warm and fed - which are the most important things - but surely at this time of year we can do more for them?
Please do not send any of the following:
No war related items - guns, knives etc Nothing of a political or religious nature (books) Our regional collections in Manchester and Cardiff will also be accepting the boxes. If you are able to help these kids it would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone!
Regular readers will know of my charitable initiative Give and Makeup.
Red magazine recently launched a campaign called 'Speak Up, Save A Life'.
The aim of their campaign is to ask that every police force in the country works alongside an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate in its work to prevent domestic violence and help save lives.
They need 100,000 signatures, so that the debate can go to the House of Commons.
They only have 8000.
I honestly find that a little embarrassing. We can do so much better.
I have signed the petition.
I would urge you to take one minute out of your day and do the same.
Today is International Women's Day. You may ask.. and? How does that affect me?
I come from a long line of incredibly strong, feisty women. I know I'm lucky. Really lucky.
My great-grandmother was a suffragette. Took no crap from anyone.
My glorious grandmother (on the banner at the top of this site) married a G.I. during the Second World War and moved to Mississippi with him where she had my Mother. When she found out he had cheated on her she picked up my Mother and got on the first boat back to England. On her own. And divorced him. As a Roman Catholic. In the early 1950's. And then worked her arse off every single day to support her daughter.
My own Mother worked from the age of 15 to put herself through college (no child support in the 60's!). She is a cancer survivor and now battles with the bastard that is Lupus. Every single day. Every single day she gets up, works through the pain and is there for all of us. Every Single Day.
These women gave me my wings. There is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful for their sacrifice, hard graft and support.
Because of them, I have always had confidence to follow my own path. I have a great family, I am free to come and go as I please. I don't answer to anyone.
So when I received these facts this week, they literally stopped me in my tracks. And then I got mightily pissed off. I started Give and Makeup because I was pissed off. Pissed off that women had to flee their homes because men - men that supposedly loved them - were literally threatening their lives and the lives of their children and forcing them to leave behind all of their belongings, family pets, their homes. How DARE they?
So on International Women's Day, before you get up, shower, drive yourself to work, take your children to school, run your errands - whatever the day has in store for you, please read a few of the facts that hit home with me personally below, take a minute to digest them, and then if you're left feeling the way I was, take a look at the links below and read about ways you can support your fellow woman.
Women own 1% of the world's property. ONE PER CENT.
Only 19% of the world's parliamentary seats are held by women.
1 in 4 women are the victims of domestic violence. ONE IN FOUR.
Women do 66% of the world's work, yet only earn 10% of the world's income. (??!!??!!)
And one particularly close to my heart: Every year in the UK alone 30,000 women lose their jobs because they are pregnant.
THIRTY THOUSAND WOMEN LOSE THEIR JOBS BECAUSE THEY ARE PREGNANT.
