SPACE STUDIO WEST LONDON

Kiera, a Mentee from The Diana Award Mentoring Programme, had an aim to support her local community and children in hospital. To give to less fortunate children, she wanted to collect donations of toys and games, which would be donated to local hospitals.

To raise awareness about the project, together with the support from The Diana Award team and Mentors, they created a survey and poster, which helped identify local recipients for the donations. They also contacted local charitable organisations and hospitals, along with Mentors reaching out to businesses who could donate to the project,

The donations received had an overwhelming response. They included:

• One Mentor, Sonia Taourghi, met with the CEO of Triland Metals, securing an incredible donation of £3,500.  

• Another Mentor, Salma Khan, secured a £250 e-gift voucher donated to (GOSH) directly from a client of Hill Group.  

• Salma Khan also provided a £200 Love2Shop voucher, donated by Hill Group.  

• Toys and games donated directly to the school by local families.  

• Mentor, Chris Garwood, provided pick and mix sweet bags.

The donations were shared across the following organisations:

Great Ormand Street Hospital (GOSH)

• 50 items, including toys, Lego, weighted blankets and sensory items, valuing just under £1,000 donated in-person.

• £500 worth of gift vouchers donated in-person.

• £250 e-gift voucher.  

West Middlesex Hospital

• Items from their Wishlist valuing roughly £1,000, to be delivered in April.  

Ashford and St Peters Hospital

• Items from their Wishlist valuing roughly £1,000 for their Paediatrics unit. They have also invited a Mentee to visit their new Paediatrics unit, which will be arranged in the near future.  

Riverside Vineyard Charity

• £200 Love2Shop vouchers delivered to them.  

Local family hubs

• 13 items, including toys, games and sensory items, as well as the pick and mix sweet bags, donated to the school.  

The impact from the donations will be huge. Here’s what Riverside Vineyard Charity had to say:

"The donation will help us serve our community by allowing us to host a Christmas party for the families that attend the foodbank. Many of these families cannot afford toys so buying gifts will enable us to generously provide for the children in the local community. This will be around 10 presents for 10 children. We are very thankful for the support and the work that you do."

Kiera (Mentee) began this project with the intention to put a smile on children’s faces. It’s safe to say that hundreds of children will positively benefit from the donations, so Kiera’s mission is a success!

We would also like to shout out Sonia (Mentor) as we would not have achieved the impact we did without the huge donation she secured from Triland Metals – thank you!

If you would like to find out more about our Mentoring Programme, follow the link below. Alternatively, if you would like to donate to The Diana Award, more information is also below.

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