World Kindness Day | Spreading joy and going the extra mile for Demelza

Felicity has volunteered for Demelza for the last six years, working with her husband Dennis in the Eastbourne charity shop. They moved to the area in 2007 and have always supported Demelza through donations and visiting the shop. This support grew when they decided they wanted to become volunteers. 

“I did not go there to volunteer as I was originally working six days a week as a teacher, but I just sort of fell into it working on a Sunday. The Demelza team is like a family. We have a small and very loyal group who have been there for a few years and we are all very supportive of each other. It has become another family for us,” she said. 

However, over the last few months it has no longer been possible for Felicity to volunteer, due to caring for her father on a full-time basis. She wondered what else she could do to offer support and after speaking to Shop Manager Karen, they came up with a brilliant idea. 

Felicity is a talented artist and photographer who enjoys being creative in her spare time. She loves painting on canvases and taking pictures by the seaside, so producing artwork for the shop seemed like the perfect way to combine her love of craft and time volunteering. She said: “Karen was very supportive and offered to display my paintings in the window to be sold. One day I saw one was missing and at first I thought it may have been stolen or something, but actually someone had bought it, which was a lovely surprise!” 

Felicity carefully thinks through her designs and so far they have resonated with the community, spreading joy through colours and uplifting themes. “Regardless of the painting or the photograph, I like it to be nice and happy. The colours are all really important to me, they are very vibrant and upbeat, so that people feel happy when they see them. Nothing is black and dark but light colours are used and people like that.” 

Each piece is made to bring a smile to someone’s face and Felicity covers all the costs involved with making them. To date she has raised over £2,500 for Demelza, which is simply amazing. 

Even though she was not able to volunteer, Felicity found another way to support Demelza and we are truly grateful! “If I enjoy doing it, somebody else enjoys looking at it and then the children can benefit, it is a win, win,” she said. 

Volunteering can be beneficial for all, but we understand that this is not always possible. You can support Demelza in other ways such as playing in our lottery, leaving a gift in your will, or fundraising in your local community - every effort counts. It is thanks to the kindness of our volunteers and supporters that we can continue to provide extraordinary care to our children and their families.