Powering through the Pandemic - Rosie May Foundation Impact Report

Powering through the Pandemic

Our cover story The global pandemic was a challenging time for all of us and our support was needed more than ever before, both overseas and in our local community.

Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk became a lifeline to many vulnerable people like Margaret, who was delighted to receive cakes during lockdown to celebrate her 92nd birthday.

Pictured: Local resident Margaret with founder and CEO of the Rosie May Foundation, Mary Storrie

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Contents

Our Founders Our Impact Rosie The Little Pink Tuk Tuk Delivering To Make A Difference International Emergency Appeal The Gift of Education Fantastic Fundraising Our Awards Life After Lockdown Meet The Rosie May Team Our Volunteers Meet Ruby Meet Roxy Think Pink - Driving for Change

3 5 7 8 15 17 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27

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Our Founders

We are incredibly proud of the work we have done so far, raising over £2million to help some of the poorest and most isolated families in the world, and provide positive futures for women and children, especially girls.

Our beautiful daughter Rosie May, forever 10 years old, is, and always will be, our complete inspiration and we know that she will be proud of the living legacy we have created for her.

The global pandemic hit us hard, but had a greater effect on those who relied upon us for support. When fundraising events were abruptly halted, so was our income. Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk, who was used at events to promote our women driving for women programme in Sri Lanka, stood idle.

We identified a need closer to home and were able to pivot our resources to help vulnerable people living locally who were largely invisible during the pandemic.

Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk became a lifeline during lockdown, not only for our local community in crisis, but for us as a charity, raising awareness as well as much needed funds, enabling us to emerge stronger and more resilient than ever.

This is the story of how we powered through the pandemic, and we thank you for joining us on our journey.

Rosie May, aged 10

Mary and Graham xx Co-Founders Co-founders Graham and Mary Storrie hosting the Rosie May Midsummer Ball 2022

Our Local Impact

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Our Global Impact

Rosie The Little Pink Tuk Tuk Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk became an iconic symbol of hope during the pandemic.

Thanks to our furloughed volunteers, we were able to deliver essential items to vulnerable and self-isolating people, when our local businesses were struggling to meet demand.

We quickly realised the human interaction of a doorstep chat was just as important as the medicine we were delivering. Our volunteers were often the only face-to-face contact for many during lockdown.

Rosie became a lifeline, bringing smiles and good cheer to vulnerable and self-isolating people in our local community.

"The simple act of kindness of staying for a doorstep chat may not seem life changing, but for many it is. Often this was, and still is, the only social interaction vulnerable people have on a regular basis."

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Angela Jackson, volunteer tuk tuk driver.

Delivering to make a difference

“We appreciated it every time you came to the door. It really was a pleasure to look forward to in those dark days. A real big thank you.”

Lockdown celebrations During lockdown, many people were forced to celebrate special occasions without their loved ones. This had a devastating impact on mental health, especially for those living alone.

Children also missed their birthday parties with friends, so Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk came to the rescue!

Our amazing team of volunteer bakers donated and hand made over 1,000 iconic rainbow cupcakes.

Using Rosie, we delivered these cakes to local seniors, children and key workers, putting smiles on faces and bringing a sense of hope and joy at this challenging time.

Our Impact Raising the spirits of those who were unable to celebrate events as usual Reconnecting loved ones through video communication Boosting the morale of key workers during the pandemic Strengthening community cohesion with volunteers playing a vital role in this time of need

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Fish & Chip Friday Local seniors told us that they missed their tradition of having fish and chips on a Friday during lockdown.

We therefore partnered with our local chip shops and enlisted the help of Bingham Fire Brigade to deliver piping hot fish and chips directly to their door.

In fact, we still continue to deliver fish and chips to our local residents every Friday lunchtime due to popular demand!

"During the pandemic I was furloughed and then made redundant, so I volunteered to drive Rosie as I felt I needed a focus.

Setting up Fish & Chip Friday was so rewarding and still is!"

Roy Farrell, volunteer tuk tuk driver

“I live in a small village where we don't have a fish shop and they were my first fish and chips for over a year!

Now I look forward to them every week. Thank you so much!“ Dave, local resident

"Thank you so much for continuing to deliver fish and chips to me and my neighbour every Friday. We both really look forward to it. What a wonderful service!"

Anna, local resident

Delivering vital medicine The pharmacy delivery service was a lifeline to so many vulnerable people who were self-isolating during the pandemic.

Our Impact

Bingham Pharmacy has always delivered medicines to patients who cannot collect their prescriptions, but the increased pressure on this service during the pandemic meant extra help was needed, especially in rural communities.

Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk and our fantastic team of volunteers delivered daily to get vital medical supplies to those who couldn’t leave their homes.

Our Impact Maintaining the health and wellbeing of the local community by delivering 968 vital prescriptions Supporting Bingham Pharmacy who were experiencing unprecedented demand to get prescriptions out to vulnerable patients

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Reducing anxiety for vulnerable and self-isolating people in need of medication

Doorstep Chats "We realised very quickly that the human interaction of a doorstep chat was just as important to isolated people as the food or medicine we were delivering."

Phil Drabble, volunteer tuk tuk driver

Connie’s Story Connie had been shielding during the lockdown and her family organised shopping to be delivered to her each week, but were unable to visit her.

Our volunteers were her only visitors and their doorstep chats became a lifeline not only for Connie but for her family too.

Our volunteers would record video messages from Connie and send them to her family who would return videos in the same way.

When it was Connie's birthday, her daughter reached out to ask if cakes could be delivered by Rosie.

Connie loved Rosie, who brought back fond memories of her time living in Asia and, of course, created another topic of conversation!

Our Impact Lowering anxiety through socially distanced doorstep deliveries Reducing loneliness by promoting positive mental health and wellbeing Supporting vulnerable people most at risk from Coronavirus Helping NHS workers by delivering hot meals to those isolating with their families

Tuk Tuk Santa “My two children were very upset because we could not visit Santa at Christmas. They told me that when Tuk Tuk Santa came to their school they knew that they had not been forgotten. Thank you!”

Helen, parent to Lucy (6) and Timmy (4) 13

In December, Tuk Tuk Santa was busy saving Christmas for local children. Grottos were closed, so Tuk Tuk Santa and his elf delivered socially distanced visits to doorsteps and school playgrounds across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

Tuk Tuk Santa told the children that he was driving Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk because his elves were 'elf-isolating' and showed them Rudoph's bell as evidence!

Our Impact

It wasn't only children, but also seniors who enjoyed a visit from Tuk Tuk Santa, as many were not able to see family at Christmas.

Supported by FHP Living and ABL Properties, Tuk Tuk Santa helped bring cheer to so many by delivering festive trees and hampers to those spending Christmas alone.

International Emergency Food Appeal During lockdown, our families in Sri Lanka and Nepal, who are mostly daily workers, lost their income and were forced to live on or below the poverty line.

Without a social support network, they relied on our support more than ever. Mums told us they would rather their children die of Covid-19 than starvation.

We launched our emergency food appeal to provide food parcels to families.

We reached our target of £10,000 and delivered regularly throughout the pandemic to over 1,000 people, helping to prevent the long-term effects of malnutrition.

Due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, we launched another emergency food appeal in June 2022, raising a further £5,000 to feed families and provide nutritious meals for our Rosie May Pre-School children, of which 80% were identified as malnourished.

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Our Impact

Supporting vulnerable families to feed their families Providing nutritional meals to school children to enhance learning and concentration Preventing serious illness associated with malnutrition Improving health and well-being in communities

200g Tea Leaves 400g Milk Powder 500g Washing Powder 2 Tins of Canned Fish 2 Sunlight Soaps 2 Velvet Soaps 1 Toothpaste 1 Pack of Chocolate Biscuits

Our food parcels include

5kg Red Rice 1kg Dhal 1kg Big Onions 1kg Potatoes 1kg Wheat Flour 1kg Green Gram 1kg Chickpeas 1kg Sugar

The Gift of Education During lockdown, schools were closed in Sri Lanka and Nepal for several months, leaving children without access to the internet and a limited opportunity to learn.

At Project Hope we strive to keep families together and empower children through education. Our back-to-school campaign provided children with a school bag containing stationery, textbooks, a lunch box, a water bottle and additional after-school lessons to improve literacy and numeracy skills. It is vital for children to be able to access education and begin to close the gap.

Our Impact Providing educational resources to improve educational achievement Enabling access to education to improve future prospects for children

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Transforming lives by keeping families together

Fantastic Fundraising As a charity, we rely heavily on donations, sponsorship and fundraising events to fund our incredible projects and initiatives.

Vinnie's Story 6-year-old Vinnie made an obstacle course in his back garden during lockdown after reading about the Rosie May Foundation in his school newsletter.

He did 26 exercises, each lasting 26 seconds, and raised an amazing £182 for the charity!

Jonny's story Jonny McPhee is a keen marathon runner, as well as a supporter of the Rosie May Foundation. So when the 2020 London Marathon was cancelled because of Covid-19, this did not stop our local hero running one in his home town of Melbourne in Derbyshire in aid of the charity.

Even in 2021 when Jonny reluctantly had to pull out of the race due to illness, he was determined not to miss an opportunity to raise money for us, and once again ran his own marathon when he had recovered.

In 2022, Jonny finally made it to the event and says he wants to run it again in 2023!

To date, Jonny has raised an incredible £12,000!

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Our Awards During The Pandemic

Mary Storrie, CEO & Founder of the Rosie May Foundation, won the Pride of Britain Awards 2020 for Best Fundraiser in the East Midlands for her leadership in navigating her team through the pandemic.

Volunteer Phil Drabble trained other volunteers to drive Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk and visited many schools as Tuk Tuk Santa. He was awarded the Civic Award by Bingham Town Council.

The Rosie May Foundation was awarded Volunteer of the Year 2021 in recognition of the many hours of tireless work and doorstep chats carried out by volunteers in our local community.

Life After Lockdown 21

Lidl food collection Our work post-pandemic continues and mitigating the devastating impact of lockdown is now our mission.

Our local Lidl in Bingham has chosen us as their charity partner through Neighbourly to help tackle food waste and food poverty in our community.

For our later-life communities, we are confronting the serious issue of chronic loneliness and social isolation. For vulnerable families we are tackling the very real issue of food insecurity and for children and young people we are providing opportunities to reduce anxiety.

Each week we collect the store's surplus food, as well items generously donated by shoppers.

Rosie the Little Pink Tuk Tuk then delivers these groceries to local schools who have identified families needing additional food support due to the cost of living crisis.

Our Impact Confronting loneliness and social anxiety by re-connecting and reengaging local communities through friendship Reducing food waste by distributing to schools to provide food security for families Promoting positive mental health and well-being in young people through fun, engaging and educational activities

Social tables We are creating social tables at local cafes, encouraging people to meet up for a coffee and a chat with others in a similar situation.

School visits Now that we’re allowed back into schools, our visits are more important than ever.

With a focus on promoting wellbeing and positive mental health, we are excited to be able to take our fleet of Pink Tuk Tuks to schools and offer themed events as well as fun, educational packages to foster learning through social interaction and engagement.

Meet The Rosie May Team

Our fabulous new team remain committed to working alongside our partners to ensure that everything we do at the Rosie May Foundation continues to be of value and accessible to the communities we serve.

We pride ourselves on doing whatever we can to help and are always open to suggestions!

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Contact us at info@rosiemay.com 01949 358745

Emma Clarkson, Fundraising Manager

“I feel privileged to be a part of a team that is supporting women and families across the globe. Volunteering not only gives me valuable experience, but also shapes my view on the world around me.”

Melissa, university student

Our volunteers

"We couldn’t have achieved any of this without the help of our amazing volunteers. We thank each and every one of them, past and present, who have given their time and energy to ensure the Rosie May Foundation achieves its goal of improving the lives of thousands of families both here and overseas."

We’re always on the lookout for more people to join our team of volunteers, so do get in touch if you’d like to get involved!

“Volunteering for the Rosie May Foundation is very rewarding. I get an enormous sense of pride helping others and know I'm making a real difference to people's lives in the local community.”

Polly, primary school teacher

Meet Ruby Rosie became such an iconic symbol of hope during the pandemic that we wanted to reach out to other communities to promote cheerfulness and connect more people.

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But Rosie couldn’t do it on her own, she needed help!

Thanks to the BNA Foundation, Ruby, our new electric Tuk Tuk, helps us to reach more vulnerable people in Newark and Nottinghamshire.

We aim to tackle post-lockdown anxiety by reconnecting socially isolated people in our local community through friendship.

Meet Roxy

Kindly donated and converted especially for the Rosie May Foundation by Tuk Tuk UK, with funding from the National Lottery and Nottinghamshire County Council, Roxy, our glorious Pink Tuk Box, is a mobile coffee bar with a dual purpose.

Making a positive difference to local people, Roxy aims to reduce chronic loneliness and social anxiety by reuniting individuals through friendship and reigniting communities.

This open-access mobile coffee bar offers people the space to reconnect with others by having a regular chat with a free cup of coffee or even a cup of our unique pink tea!

Roxy is also available to hire for events and private parties, providing a new revenue stream to support the foundation.

To hire Roxy, Rosie or Ruby, email pinktuktuks@rosiemay.com

Think Pink - Driving for Change Did you know that less than 2% of taxi drivers in the UK are women?

We have launched Think Pink, a not-for-profit entity, led by a team of professionals in the taxi industry, who are giving their valuable time pro bono, to help us address this issue and the current shortage of drivers post-pandemic. .

The Think Pink Drivers Alliance has been created to support women taxi and private hire drivers through mentoring and meaningful training, and to nurture a community of women drivers who support each other through friendship.

We have partnered with a local fleet, DG Cars in Nottingham, to promote the opportunity for flexible, well-paid work for women drivers, as well as to give women the choice to book a cab driven by a female.

On successful conclusion of this pilot, we plan to roll out Think Pink across other major UK cities.

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“It has always been my dream to bring Think Pink Sri Lanka to the UK and what better place to start than in my home town of Nottingham. Our experience from Sri Lanka, where we train women to drive pink tuk tuks as taxis, is valuable and relevant because the opportunity and need for Think Pink is universal.”

Mary Storrie, CEO & Founder of the Rosie May Foundation

thinkpinkdrivers.uk

Thank you for your support!

Our impact is only possible because of you!

ALB Nottingham Albany Junior School Alexandra Workwear Aly Greenway Workplace Training Amazon Smile Ann Et Vin Archbishop Cranmer Academy Arnold View Primary School Ash Accountants Bake a Wish BBC Radio Derby BBC East Midlands Today BBC Radio Nottingham Bean Block Café Belvoir Castle Belvoir Vale Rotary Club Bingham Cricket Club Bingham Fish and Chips Bingham Pharmacy BNA Foundation Carnarvon Primary School Carolyn Deacock, Make-up Artist Ceylon Tee Co Cherizena Coffee Co-op Radcliffe-on-Trent Coddington Primary School Colombo street UK Cooks & Company Copper, Bingham Councilor Keith Girling Cotgrave C of E Primary School Cotgrave Community Kitchen Dalestorth Primary School Derby Soroptimists Dizzywear East Midlands Property & Business Show

Eaton Place Fish Bar Engine Yard, Belvoir FHP Property Consultants Fill the Gap Marketing Gunthorpe Primary School Hammonds Property Services Harper Recruitment Group Healdswood School Heather Higgs HMC Independent School, Nottingham ITV Central News Judith Boyd Judy Fishel KPMG, East Midlands Kesteven Girls Grammar School Kew Clinic Kinoulton Primary School Ladram Bay Langar Primary Academy Laura Mulley Leicester City Women Lidl Bingham Mercure Leicester, The Grand Molly’s Snack Shop Monkey Business Podcast Musical Theatre High Newark Rotary Club Newark Town Hall Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Notts TV Nottingham High School Number Sixteen, Bingham Ovy Design Paul Martyn Music

Pierrepoint Gamston Primary School Pride of Britain Awards 2020 Prime Performance Physio Pygott & Crone Radcliffe-on-Trent Infant and Nursery School Robert Miles Infant School Robert Miles Junior School Rushcliffe Awards Rushcliffe Borough Council Ryley Wealth Management St Peters Academy Star Trust Starnhill Studios Stowe Family Law The Cake Decorating Co The Elms Pre-School & Junior School The Good Scribe The Lily Pad Complementary Therapy The National Lottery Community Fund The Tallulah Talks Podcast The Tea Garden, Bingham Town mayor councillor, Lisa Geary Trade Freight International Limited Travelteer UK Tree, Newark Trent College Tuk Tuk UK University Radio Nottingham Vivah Fashion Waterside Calligraphy Yeung Sing Zen Fit Health

Our Partners The University of Nottingham Nottingham Trent University Travelteer and Travelteer Impact Colombo Street Nottingham Lidl, Bingham, Nottingham KPMG, Nottingham Nelsons, Nottingham Invictus Communications, Derby Brewin Dolphin Wealth Management, Nottingham Hope & Homes for Children Imperial College, London, Sri Lankan Society SAHAS Nepal ASHA Nepal

Our Patrons Emma Rutland, Duchess of Rutland Justin Excell, Managing Director – Swiss Re Geeta Pendse, Broadcaster/Journalist Charlotte Gordon, West End Theatre Actress

Our Trustees Neil Price (Chair) Graham Storrie Helen Wells Jane Bungay John Elliott Sam Ellis Daksha Patel

Creating a living legacy for Rosie May, aged 10

rosiemay.com UK Registered Charity No.1113049

PO Box 9440, Nottingham, NG13 0WQ Email: info@rosiemay.com Phone: 01949 358745