‘People don’t expect pure kindness, but it exists in abundance’

the gift giver

Jaime Thurston, 39, is the founder and CEO of 52-Lives.org, a charity that aims to change a life a week through kindness. She lives in Berkshire with her partner Greig, 39, and children Abbey, 10, Max, eight, and Joseph, one. as I sit watching our children opening their presents on Christmas Day, my thoughts will inevitably turn to the people who’ve been helped by the organisation I set up to facilitate kindness.

all year round, we help to change people’s lives and spread kindness, but our annual Christmas Project is a special initiative to provide gifts for around 1,000 people who would otherwise have nothing.

I never planned to set up a charity. I’m just someone who’s moved by people’s stories. 52-lives began when I came across a local request online from a woman who needed a rug, but wasn’t in a position to buy one. I replied saying I didn’t have one, but would happily deliver a rug if anyone offered one. Chatting, I found out she had escaped domestic violence with her kids. she was trying to start afresh, but had nothing at all and needed the rug as the broken floor in the flat they were staying in was cutting her children’s feet. I found this heartbreaking, so I emailed friends and family asking for spare bedding or furniture.

When I turned up at the woman’s flat with a car full of donated items, she was so overwhelmed that she burst into tears. I was on a high for several days, thinking about how small acts of kindness can make such a difference. then I realised we could do this every week!

I set up a page on Facebook and asked people to nominate anyone going through a hard time. soon we’d helped a single mum and her son who both had cancer, but were struggling to get to hospital for their treatments. out of the blue a woman in scotland offered to buy them a car. this story was picked up and we suddenly had 4,000 followers on Facebook, all willing to help.

things really skyrocketed in

2015 when I was invited to meet a researcher at a tV studio and found myself on Surprise Surprise. the people we’d helped had wanted to thank me in person. the next day I woke up to find 150,000 new Facebook notifications.

We are now a registered charity and sponsored by Gala bingo, so 100% of what people give goes to those we help.

one of our most uplifting stories recently was an asylum seeker fleeing conflict in Eritrea. she had come here for sanctuary, only to be raped and find herself pregnant and homeless. the Government turned down her asylum application, but at the same time ruled that she couldn’t be sent back because the situation in her homeland was too dangerous. I set up an amazon wish list full of practical items she’d need for the baby, but feared people’s attitude might be, “What is she doing here, anyway?” yet within an hour everything had been bought. It was wonderful.

We’ve also helped an elderly woman who’d been conned out of money, not once but twice, when the con men came back posing as investigating police and stole even more money from her. the world is full of such sad stories that people don’t expect pure kindness, but it exists in abundance. We just have to tap into it.

I’ve always thought our actions determine what sort of world we live in. If you want to live in a kind world, you need to be kind to those around you. We now go into schools to share this message – that kindness changes lives and strengthens communities.

✢ Jaime’s book Kindness: the little thing that Matters Most (Harper Collins) is out now w&h