Hello lovely people!
I’ve got an exciting update about an important aspect of my business. As many of you will know, I’m passionate about giving back and since the birth of Moments by Katie Mitchell Photography, supporting families and giving have been at the core of what I do.
When I first set up my business, I knew I wanted to support local charities who supported families in need here in Gloucestershire. Being fairly new to the area, I needed to do some research and soon came upon two that really stood out to me: Gloucestershire Bundles, who provide emergency packs of toiletries, clothing and equipment to pregnant women and families with children up to the age of eleven, who find themselves in crisis situations, and The Family Haven, who help disadvantaged and vulnerable families in Gloucestershire by providing parents and their pre-school children with a warm, caring and supportive day centre where assistance and encouragement is available to help them improve the quality of their lives. Since then, for more than five years, I’ve been donating money from my family photography packages to these amazing local charities.
A few years into my business and the charity support that I’d provided, I expanded my support to Footsteps Counselling and Care, who offered counselling for individuals and couples in the county who have experienced fertility issues including miscarriage or baby loss – something that had impacted me personally. Sadly Footsteps have recently closed their doors. This news, along with my growing desire to focus my efforts on having an even bigger impact, were catalysts for me to switch up how I handle this side of my business.
As of January 2024, I’ve decided that, instead of spreading my donations across three different charities, I’ll be focusing on one local charity at a time per six month period. This means I’ll be able to offer more concentrated support and hopefully have a bigger impact on the families that they serve.
I’m thrilled to announce that the first of my chosen charities under this new initiative will be Emily’s Gift. Their mission is to raise £500,000 to fund a psychologist on the Emily Kent Unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, to provide professional emotional support for children with cancer and their families to help them cope with the trauma.
Emily’s Gift is a charity that is especially close to the heart of some of my clients who have sadly been touched by childhood cancer over the last few years. I first met Toby when he came to my annual Santa’s Grotto Experience and he had me (and Santa!) grinning from ear to ear watching the excitement of him and his sister as they loved every second!
Just a few years later, I learned that they’d received the news that no family wants to hear. Nikki, Toby’s mum, has shared this with me:
I’m thrilled that Moments by Katie Mitchell has chosen to support Emily’s Gift because my family will be one of those who will benefit from the support provided. Receiving a cancer diagnosis for your child is beyond horrific; in an instant, life as you knew it grinds to a complete halt and will never return to what it was. Having professional support available to take care of the mental health of the families is just as important as taking care of the physical health of the child. Sadly Gloucestershire is the only paediatric oncology unit in the whole of the south west that doesn’t have this available so families like mine are just left to deal with the trauma by ourselves.
Nikki has documented Toby’s journey since diagnosis and throughout his treatment; you can read where it all began in her blog here: Finding out your child has cancer.
This week I’ve made my first donation to Emily’s Gift from the funds that had been set aside for Footsteps Counselling and Care; going forwards, I shall be donating £10 from each standard package sold to Emily’s Gift until the end of June 2024.
Hopefully – with your help! – we’ll make a real difference in the lives of these families who need it most. Thank you so much for all of your support. I’m excited to continue having a positive impact within our Gloucestershire community.
Katie
P.S. I am collating a list of potential charity partners for the future, so if you have any personal recommendations, please do let me know!
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