Small Acts of Kindness Impact Report 2023 - Report - Page 2
A message from Chris Hamill, Chair of Trustees
2023 was another year of remarkable growth for the work of Small Acts of Kindness and, in particular,
the engagement of our growing volunteer community in all that we do. Since we began 9 years ago,
individual volunteering from local people keen to help in their communities, has been at the heart of
our work. Indeed, we could never have grown so rapidly without their help.
We were delighted to see their efforts recognised in 2021 with our Queen’s Award for Voluntary
Service. More recently, we have been impressed by the growth in our corporate partners sending us
volunteer teams to help on our packing days. Speaking with many of them, from over 30 businesses, it
is clear to me that a day’s volunteering with us is more than just a day out of the office but a chance to
learn more about what we do and to make a direct contribution to help and support the lives of the
people their businesses serve.
We get some fantastic feedback from our corporate
volunteers, of which these are just a couple of examples:
“Thank you for such a fantastic time yesterday.
By far one of the best organised events I have
been to all year. The team were lovely and
always on hand checking in with us”
“I want to help those less fortunate than myself I am fortunate that the company I work for also
sees value in this and encourages us to take a
day a year to volunteer"
On behalf of the trustees and the management team at
Small Acts of Kindness, I want to thank all our volunteers –
individual and corporate – for the huge contributions they
make to help us, help older people across the areas we
serve.
This year, we once again joined forces with Hertfordshire County Council and HertsHelp to deliver 2,500 Bags of Kindness,
that were distributed to vulnerable residents of Hertfordshire. Since forming our partnership with Hertfordshire County
Council, in 2020, we have sourced, packed and delivered 14,500 gift bags. It is a project that we are immensely proud of,
reaching out to those who face daily struggles, trying to lessen the negative impact this has, with a gift bag full of treats,
practical gifts and useful information.
For the first time, we were asked to work with Hertfordshire Libraries and the
Children and Young People Team, sourcing and packing gift bags for vulnerable
groups within their remit. Utilising our skillset to source products, organise and
manage the logistics of packing hundreds of bags and liaise with partners for
distribution, we are extremely proud of what we are achieving.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with Hertfordshire County
Council and helping to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable people in our
community, one small act of kindness at a time.