From Holbeach with hope

Kate Chapman meets Amanda Baxter from international aid agency Boxes of Hope, a local charity which is helping to support people in crisis, both at home and in war-torn Ukraine.

When Amanda Baxter began filling shoeboxes with essentials to send to war-torn Ukraine, she had no idea the project would snowball to become Boxes of Hope – an international aid organisation helping thousands of people at home and abroad.

Amanda began the charity on her kitchen table in Holbeach in early 2022, and since then it has sent 25 lorry loads of aid to Ukraine while helping people closer to home with emotional and practical support and advice. Its volunteers organise fundraising events and run a community hub and shop in Holbeach, as well as a warehouse where people rebuilding their lives can find furniture and other essentials. The charity works alongside local authorities and other organisations, referring those in need to vital services such as food banks, mental health support and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and is the first port of call for anyone being rehomed in the area.

“When I first began packing shoeboxes, I had no idea that things would snowball like this,” says Amanda, who is Boxes of Hope managing director. “Two years on, we’re still collecting and sending aid to Ukraine, but there’s also a need at home too.

“We’re collaborating with so many different organisations like Shaw Trust and Change4Lincs and working with lots of people in the local area; these range from people moving into a new property who haven’t got anything, to people struggling with their bills, young mums, young families who need items like a pushchair or nappies, homeless people and others who are all struggling with the cost of living crisis.

“Our community shop opened earlier this year and has had a great reception – especially the large range of gently used school uniforms, which we have in stock. It’s also our hope to take this out into the rural community later in the year with a mobile shop too. People are so grateful for the help we’re able to give them, which is wonderful.”

Shoebox campaign
Mum of three Amanda has always wanted to help people. Back in 2008, she organised her first shoebox campaign when her son Sam, a Royal Marine at the time, was deployed to Afghanistan. She filled boxes with games, sweets and other morale boosters that proved a lifeline when they arrived the day after a terrible incident, in which three of the unit were tragically killed.

“I’d been beside myself when Sam left, so I filled the boxes as something to do,” recalls Amanda.

“When I spoke to him after the incident, he told me the shoeboxes couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

They’d been a real boost and he said I’d got to keep doing it.

“A few years later, I did the same following the Grenfell Tower fire. I’d lived in a London tower block for part of my childhood, and I just couldn’t get my head around how this had happened.

“I decided I wanted to take the people involved some shoeboxes. I drove down to London the following day and what I saw on that Saturday changed my life. I saw the real power of community. I still get flashbacks; it was like a war zone.

“I wanted those people to know that the people in Lincolnshire cared about them and what was happening to them. I gave out lots of shoeboxes, filled with toiletries and other essentials. It was just unreal.”

The donations continued to come and Amanda passed these on to a church in Spalding and a women’s refuge.

Ukraine in crisis
Amanda was recovering from illness at home in 2022 when she spent all night watching news about the invasion of Ukraine and knew she had to do something to make a difference.

“It was just awful watching these people fleeing their homes, carrying a few belongings in a carrier bag,” says Amanda. “I knew I had to send boxes, and that’s where it all started.

“When people found out what I was doing, the pile of boxes in my dining room got bigger and bigger, I’d never seen so many donations, they were coming from all over the country.

“And now, here we are two years later, and we’ve just sent our 25th 18-tonne lorry load of aid over there.”

As Boxes of Hope continued to grow, Amanda followed one of the HGVs transporting medical supplies, nappies, baby food, toiletries and clothing across the continent and spent two weeks in Lviv to see for herself where the donations were going and to build a support network.

“The lorry we were following was delayed as it was just so dangerous at that time, but I wanted to go to show these people that there was support for them,” says Amanda. “We saw schools had been made into these halfway houses, people were taken off trains and taken to them, lessons were being held in the basements and there were people sleeping all over the floors. Everyone was so grateful for the help we were giving them.”

As well as continuing the aid effort for Ukraine and being one of the first points of contact for any Ukrainian refugees arriving in south Lincolnshire, Amanda and her team have also collaborated with other organisations closer to home.

Life-changing
The charity is now waiting to hear if it has secured funding from the Levelling Up Fund and National Lottery Community Fund, which if successful will ensure the charity’s future for the next five years.

“It’s fair to say this has completely changed my life – it’s constant, there’s always something to deal with but it’s wonderful to be helping so many people,” adds Amanda.

“I would love to replicate what we’re doing in other areas of the country too, as there’s so much need for it. What we’re doing here in Holbeach is just going from strength to strength, but it all comes down to finding funding support for us to do this in other areas as well.”

Boxes of Hope also runs drop-in sessions, community craft sessions and has recently launched its Cost of a Coffee campaign, through which people can donate a small amount each month to help it become more sustainable and continue its good work.

For more information about Boxes of Hope and its vital work, visit www.boxesofhope.co.uk

Photographs: copyright Boxes of Hope and Kate Chapman

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