Charity hero collects shoes for Afghan refugees
A SELFLESS mum-of-two has organised the donation of more than 200 pairs of shoes to help Afghan refugees arriving in London who have barely any possessions whatsoever.
Sarah Gardner, from Wembley, has donated over 3,000 pieces of clothing in the last two and a half weeks, recently donating shoes to Heathrow hotels where Afghan refugees are isolating.
The 41-year-old worked in partnership with the Red Cross to deliver essential footwear to refugees who have recently arrived in the capital and were staying at the Crown Plaza Holiday Inn Express.
She described the “excitement” and “happiness” on the children’s faces when they received the shoes.
The inspirational mother-of-two said:
“Some of the refugees arriving only have the clothes on their backs and don’t have suitable footwear, especially for winter in England.
“We heard of a hotel close to Heathrow airport which was in need of shoes.
“We worked with the red cross and were able to provide dozens of shoes for those in need. It’s their reactions that make it all worth it. “The kids were coming out of their isolation period smiling at their shoes.
“It wasn’t just the actual shoes they were happy with.
“They were happy that they had come to a new country and been given something, it made them feel welcome in England.” Sarah runs the Serving Our Superheroes charity and has donated over £600,000 worth of clothes and goods from her home. She collects donations from the community at her home in Wembley
and then distributes them through her network of charitable contacts.
She has also used the shoes and clothing to help the homeless in the community and has filled her garage with the donated clothes.
They rely predominantly on donations from the community and use the family’s house as storage.
To date, the family home has seen 56,454 items come through the doors and be donated to charity, over 3000 of them in the last two and a half weeks.
Sarah has said the estimated retail value of all donations is over £600,000.
The heroic West Londoner was quick to thank others in helping her, including charities such as the Round Table, InKind and the London Community
Kitchen.
Sarah continued and said: “At the moment we are focusing our donations on refugees but in the past have helped the homeless, the NHS, and key workers.
“I receive so many donations that sometimes I can’t fit into my double garage. Recently we used some of the charity’s money, of which there isn’t much, to bulk buy 200 pairs of shoes from a charitable wholesaler.
“Our intention was to give these to the homeless in the area but as the Afghan refugee crisis worsened we realised that they are in desperate need of footwear, especially the children.” Sarah encouraged others to give to charity even if you think it’s not that much or won’t make a difference. She explained that all the small things add up and that’s the only way her charity was able to progress: “small acts of kindness from strangers”.
She added: “Never underestimate what you can achieve.”
The Serving Our Superheroes charity relies on donations from the community of clothes and goods.
You can donate to the charity’s GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com or email them on servingoursuperheroes@gmail.com
Some of the refugees arriving only have the clothes on their backs and don’t have suitable footwear, especially for winter in England. Sarah Gardner