Millionaire mums pack bags of kindness for bundles of joy

The project, which is supported with National Lottery funding, helps people in crisis regardless of their age or gender. Whether it’s a mother leaving an abusive home with nothing but the clothes she is wearing, or a family who cannot afford to buy school uniforms, The Cowshed steps in with a carefully chosen selection of free clothes and other essentials.

With demand for The Cowshed’s services on the rise, the group of National Lottery winners were eager to help out. They spent the day selecting donated clothes from The Cowshed’s rails and packing them into bags for people who will receive them in the coming weeks.

The National Lottery winners also put together some ‘Welcome to the World’ kits – a bag designed for new mothers containing items such as nappies, feeding bottles, clothing and a steriliser. The kits also contained baby bonnets, cardigans, blankets and booties knitted by another team of National Lottery winners keen to help out.

Leading the team was Berkshire National Lottery millionaire, Rebecca Haines, who won £1MMillion on Lotto in January 2021. She was accompanied by winners from across the region including Lesley Herbert (£2MMillion), Sammie Mackie (£1MMillion), Di Foster (£1MMillion) and Sammy Young (£1MMillion).

Rebecca said, “We have all been amazed at the work of The Cowshed and the team’s ability to create real and immediate solutions to help people in need. To know that each referral pack we put together today will go straight to someone in dire need is incredibly humbling.

“We really hope that each recipient of our referral packs will know that we cared, and that they were packed with love.”

Sally Russell, founder of Cowshed, said, “We’ve really enjoyed working with the National Lottery winners and are very touched that they have given up their time in this way. So much of what we do is making sure that the recipients of our services know someone cares, that they don’t feel like they have in some way failed. The care and attention these millionaire mums have given to everything they have done today reflects our values to a tee.”

The Cowshed helped almost 7,000 adults and children last year – an increase of 400 per cent on the previous 12 months. Sally said, “We anticipate there will be an even greater need in the coming months, whether from refugees fleeing war or households plunged into poverty due to the rising cost of living.”

28th March 2022