One in a OMNIELILNIOA N! MILLION!

This week we’re celebrating the inspiring story of Jo Newby, 52, from East Yorkshire. She said...

Loading up muddy football kits in the washing machine, it didn’t feel like a miserable task to me. There was something so rewarding about seeing the children happily running around in the fresh air.

Since 16, I had spent all my time babysitting.

My Friday nights as a teen weren’t spent heading out to wild parties, but instead singing lullabies to babies.

So, when I met my first husband, aged 20, I couldn’t wait to have my own.

James was born in 1990, and 10 years later, I got remarried to my partner, Chris.

We did consider having more kids of our own, but settled on fostering instead.

‘We’ll give it a go for a couple of years...’ we said to each other.

Except, 19 years later, we’ve now fostered over 90 children!

Including Kasper, 14, who we’ve now legally adopted.

Last year, he told us he wanted to start playing competitive football.

But, mainstream football can be really intense, which wasn’t going to suit Kasper who had come from a difficult background.

So, we took matters into our own hands, setting up three football teams as part of Barton Inclusive Football Club, for children with additional needs.

Kasper finally had a team that he loved.

Only, one afternoon this summer, I received a mysterious phone call.

‘Hello, it’s the team at KIND here. Could we speak to Jo please?’

‘Speaking!’ I said, before the line cut off.

Rushing into the room, Chris’s face was a picture.

It was then that he admitted he had nominated me for a KIND Hero Award.

‘The call was to nominate the kindest person you know,’ he said. ‘That’s you!’

‘That’s lovely,’ I replied. ‘But I really doubt I’ll win!’ What makes me so special? Except, an hour later, Chris came rushing in to see me.

‘You’ve only gone and won!’ he said. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

He told me that I was going to have a statue put up of me in Southbank, and on 19 October this year I went to the unveiling ceremony in London.

KIND explained that the statue is part of their campaign to build a kinder world, and that my statue would stay up for the entire day.

I feel so honoured to have even been considered for this award – all I think about is making the children happy.

Now, seeing the kids dribble and shoot on the football pitch, I know that they have nothing holding them back.

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We’ve now fostered over 90 children!