People's Rights
Single Mum Brings Sunshine and Happiness into Sick Children’s Lives
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August 5, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
When awaiting the birth of her first child four years ago, Kim Wood saw a documentary on child abuse that would affect her so heavily it would lead to a string of life-changing events she had never thought she would encounter.
Single and expecting her first child, Kim didn’t take the time to ponder how her life was going to change and what challenges she faced, instead she began to think of others. She set up her charity, Sun And Happiness, and went about finding out how she could help children from impoverished backgrounds, as well as those who are terminally ill, and decided that providing holidays and inspirational days out for these children could really help them to find strength during times of immense difficulty.
“I looked at the documentary, which was quite graphic, and it really shocked me,” said the 34-year-old former property sector worker from Birmingham. “I was quite upset for a couple of days. I then decided that I was going to do something about the circumstances that I’d seen on the television.
“But being a single parent I couldn’t just give up my life and devote [it] to charity so [I] tried to find a route [where] I could create opportunities for these children that would fit in with everything else that was going on in my life and the potential parenthood that was approaching.”
But it wasn’t an easy task to get the charity up and running. Soon after her daughter Angelina, now four, was born Kim fell ill with various stress disorders which she took a while to recover from. But despite these obstacles, as well as trying to hold down some paid work to provide for her new family and facing parenthood alone, Kim pushed on with her dream.
“My partner sadly left when I was 8 weeks pregnant … [and] I really struggled for a couple of years with a lot of these issues that were related to stress disorders,” she continued. “As I started to get better, the charity was the one thing really that pulled me through because I started it and it was a project that I absolutely had to see through to the successful day, which was the 16th of December [2010] when the Charity Commission approved our project and gave us our registration.
“I think that’s kind of why people relate very well to me because I’m very down to earth and very real. I’m doing this amongst trying to raise a family on my own and running a business and I’m studying as well at the moment. It’s such a really down to earth project, run by somebody who is incredibly down to earth and very genuine.”
So now Sun And Happiness has started to take its full shape, what does it entail? Working with other children’s charities, children are selected and their details handed to Kim to arrange holiday destinations or inspirational days out for.
But what makes Sun And Happiness different to similar groups is that Kim has enlisted a band of celebrities who have given the keys to their second/holiday homes over to her for Sun And Happiness to use for the large parts of the year while the property would otherwise stand empty. If they do not own a property suitable for the children, celebrities can sponsor a UK or oversees holiday for the child or get involved by hosting one of the inspirational days out and make a dream come true for the child.
By taking this route, the charity does not have to pay for destinations, so their outlay is much lower and its small amount of funds can be used to cover the travel costs.
So far, Premier League footballers such as Shola Ameobi and Titus Bramble, and, most recently and famously, Gareth Barry, as well as TV personalities like BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer presenter Martin Roberts, have all got involved. Kim hopes that now others will follow in their path to help her give more children the chance of a well-deserved break.
“We’re leading with the celebrities campaign as we think it validates what we’re trying to achieve. The fact that we’ve got some big name celebrities who are prepared to allow us to use their accommodation hopefully gives people the courage and the inspiration they need to get involved with the campaign.
“Obviously we need to be very aware of health and safety regulations [but] quite often the celebrity properties tend to be very comfortable, very luxurious locations so there aren’t any health and safety issues where the children are concerned. [They are] traditionally owners that rent their properties out to the general public on a yearly basis, they are the kind of customers we’re trying to bring into it.”
Titus Bramble has already donated his property to the Sun And Happiness cause. The Sunderland defender is hoping that his actions, coupled with those of his fellow stars and the current PR campaigns, will entice further names to back the cause.
“I heard [about the charity] through a mutual friend,” he told The Fresh Outlook. “He mentioned about the charity to me and I was more than happy to put my name forward to it because it’s such a good charity and I feel I can be a big help to it.
“Hopefully this is a start and I think this could be a really big charity. Lots of footballers have obviously got a lot of properties abroad. I’ll speak with a few of my teammates obviously and I’m sure Gareth [Barry] will speak with his mates and Shola [Ameobi]. I’m sure they’ll do the same, and I don’t see why we can’t get a lot more footballers involved in the charity.
“A lot of footballers are involved in charities but obviously it just goes unnoticed and so it’s just a case of spreading the word and getting more publicity for it.”
In February, working with Cardiff-based children’s cancer charity LATCH, Kim was able to send her first child abroad to an apartment just outside Puerto Banus in Malaga, Spain. The positive experience had by all makes her confident that the charity will be a resounding success.
An official statement released to The Fresh Outlook, read: “LATCH is delighted to have been chosen by Sun And Happiness to benefit from the wonderful holidays they are able to offer.
“One lucky child from South Wales, who has been treated for cancer, and her family had a fantastic holiday in Marbella earlier this year. The facilities were brilliant and Sun And Happiness could not do enough to ensure the family had the holiday of a lifetime.”
The positive experience has led to further trips being planned already, with LATCH selecting more children to partake in a holiday to footballer Barry’s property next month.
Further funding for the charity will also come from the release of a charity single called ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, a cover of the R Kelly song by former X Factor contestant Curtis Moore, which is released on Monday and available from iTunes.
Curtis is somebody who the children involved in the project can relate to as he sadly lost his brother when he was younger and his family broke apart as a result of the tragedy. The funds from the release, which is endorsed by the celebrities who have already donated their properties, will help to pay for the travel costs of taking the children abroad, bringing the final piece of the puzzle to the table.
“[Curtis] was taken in to foster care at a young age and missed several years of his education and struggled with self-esteem and self confidence issues as a result of the trauma that he experienced as a teenager. He fortunately ended up with a fabulous foster care family who encouraged his music career and pushed him to go onto the X Factor.
“He got down to the last 50. He didn’t [win] because I think his confidence and self esteem issues held him back at that point. He was 16. He’s now 18 years old and he’s had two years of solid support, coaching, voice training, he’s overcome a lot of his self confidence and self esteem issues and he’s an inspirational young man who is going to deliver an amazing performance on this track,” said Kim.
It is hoped that the proceeds from the track and further endorsements and agreements with celebrities can help Kim achieve what she has planned for Sun and Happiness.
“Once the single is released [Curtis] has agreed to do a whole tour of private performances just for the selected partners we’re working with through these charity organisations. The general public will be allowed to come down and witness the filming of the video and the people that will be appearing in the pop video to accompany the single will be children that have been selected by our charity partners, again to utilise that as a vehicle to offering them some inspiration and some hope and a fun day out.”
Kim says that she is delighted with how far they have come already, but that there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of children that need help. But just how far can Sun And Happiness go?
“My initial dream was just to help one child, which was achieved. I think the sky’s the limit. My dream is that [we’ll have] children travelling all over the world in the next six months and utilising the accommodation that has been so generously donated. We’ve got some key profile sports people to [do] personal appearances to meet with these individuals who need the help that these players can give to them.
“This charity saved my life and I intend to give it back everything it deserves.”
Interview by Leigh Gruffydd Sanders
[Image courtesy of Kim Wood]
