Our funding of £4,000 is from The Body Shop UK in-store promotion, celebrating 20 years of The Body Shop Foundation and is for core costs.

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I know, its not the prettiest link in the world but don’t be put off by its clunky url, this my friends, is Annual Review poetry!  Simply click on the link and voila – lose yourself  in our report and fond look back at the last  year.

Once more we’ve funded some  exceptional and  ground breaking groups that we’ve grown very proud of and it is in large part, thanks to you.

Thank you all for  your support, volunteering, donations, commitment and passion over the last year and as we  celebrate 20 years of  charitable  giving, we raise a toast to you all –   please settle back with  a cup of tea and enjoy!  Its a relationship worth celebrating!

Vicki

I manage the Copy Approval and Artwork process so I am responsible for ensuring that all product communications, promotional and campaign-led copy and packaging artwork is accurate, complies with all necessary legislation/regulation and meets our deadlines!

The Foundation does some amazing work and funds some truly innovative and exciting projects. I aim to help the team in raising their awareness and profile both internally as well as outside of The Body Shop. Also, I am really keen to involve other small grassroots organisations in the local area to get involved.

And the following 10 questions we ask absolutely everyone…

Apart from your home and car, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?
I am a bit of a DIY fanatic and went a little overboard after purchasing some leaded cut glass wardrobe door knobs over the internet. Needless to say my husband was not impressed!

What’s been the most embarrassing moment of your life?
I used to be a Silver Service waitress to earn some extra cash when I was a student. My first assignment after being trained was to serve at a wedding reception. Unfortunately for me I was given a plate of hot roasted potatoes and, as I went to serve the bride & groom, I dropped a large potato into the grooms lap and it rolled off onto the floor! I was mortified but at least he saw the funny side of it!

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Make chocolate and wine calorie free

If you were invisible for a day, what would be the first thing you’d do?
Sneak into The Body Shop Nursery to see what my daughter was up to…

If you had a pound to give to charity, which collection tin would you pop it in?
Breakthrough Breast Cancer

When was the last time you cried?

I nearly cried the other day if that counts but held it together! We were being shown a video in The Foundation AGM about Ship breaking in Bangladesh and worker rights.Some of the 30,000 workers are only children doing the most dangerous jobs with no protective gear.

Who did you last receive a text from and what did it say?
My best friend from school telling me about her one-year olds antics!

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
“Dana” from the X-Files. She’s a great character!

What is your favourite thing about The Body Shop Foundation?
It’s wide stretching remit

What one skill or talent do you have that no-one knows about?
Well I used to be a writer/journalist (not a secret particularly) and I have interviewed a few famous people not to mention Anthea Turner and Grant Bovey who made me a lovely cup of tea! Fiona Bruce is a trustee for a charity, in which I used to work, and we visited a lovely project at Chailey Heritage in Sussex to help raise their profile with a Hello! Photo shoot a few years back…

As the judges said to Rita  “Your book was well written and tastefully presented, and not just a case of someone donating their proceeds to charity but creating awareness of child abuse and promoting the work of NAPAC.  Therefore, you were chosen as the outright winner for this award”

Rita herself has told us that she has been gratified by the feedback from many who have purchased the book.  Some say that don’t feel so alone, others have sent their own poems and others have been grateful to be made aware that NAPAC exists.  Rita heralds and thanks the inspirational Peter Saunders (CEO and Founder of NAPAC) for his encouragement to write the book as she was just about to lay down her quill and give up writing.

And as for us, we say a HUGE ‘well done’ Rita - your thoughtful, kind and generous donation has reached out to many people and will touch and changes lives.  We simply couldn’t be happier for you and NAPAC.  Congratulations!

I work as the Head of Studio Production for the Creative department as part of the International brand team. Studio Production is divided into several areas, Retouch, DTP, Artwork and the Asset Library. I have been managing the team since the begining of January, I was previously responsable for setting up the Asset Library.

Being a trustee for the Foundation is a very privileged and rewarding position, we get to make decisions that effect the lives of many people and we get to see the results of the grants we award together with the amazing work people are doing.

And the following 10 questions we ask absolutely everyone…

Apart from your home and car, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought? My Wife’s Engagement ring.

What’s been the most embarrasing moment of your life? There are so many to choose from. When I was 17 and on holiday with friends on a Greek island, we rented scooters and on the first day I ran over and hurt the only postman on the island. On the second day I hit the same postman again and broke the scooter, so I had stand there while a group of locals shouted at me in greek for about half an hour. I don’t understand Greek but I think I got a flavour of what they were trying to say.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Miscommunication, I think we would all get on a lot better if we didn’t misunderstand one anothers intentions so often, there would be less arguements, wars etc.

If you were invisible for a day, what would be the first thing you’d do? Probably look in the mirror, then call a doctor. But I would love to be the sort of person that would go out and rob a bank, sadly I am just not that exciting.

If you had a pound to give to charity, which collection tin would you pop it in? A charity that helps Children in Third world poverty, such as Plan.

When was the last time you cried? Last Thursday (it was for a very good reason though)

Who did you last receive a text from and what did it say? My old boss, it was about Englands performance in the world cup match on Friday, the criticism was not entirely constructive and certainly not repeatable.

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? Peter, which is my second name.

What is your favourite thing about The Body Shop Foundation? The foundation provides funding to small unique charities, that are often run by passionate and often quite amazing people. The funding the foundation provides can make a massive difference to the amount of good those small charities can do.

What one skill or talent do you have that no-one knows about? Sad to say what little talent I have, I tell people all too  eagerly, so I don’t really have any secret skills. I am getting pretty good at the air traffic control game on my phone, does that count?

I look after the finances for the UK Market, which means being the “guardian” of the assets, ensuring we maximise our resources and have efficient processes for controlling and minimising costs across a 300 store estate. It also implies looking forward and supporting strategy to deliver sustainable growth.

I wanted to be a trustee to take on the ethos of the “starfish story”: making a difference however small it might seem.  It’s part of having a personal involvement.

And the following 10 questions we ask absolutely everyone…

Apart from your home and car, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?
In relative terms, it has to be shoes…

What’s been the most embarrasing moment of your life?
Crashing the car on my way from hairdresser on my wedding day.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Make everyone speak the same language in a broad sense… so many issues come from a lack of understanding and lack of communication.

If you were invisible for a day, what would be the first thing you’d do?
Drive around in a Mini convertible with the roof down listening to “Free Falling” by Tom Petty. That would make me laugh!

If you had a pound to give to charity, which collection tin would you pop it in?
NSPCC. Cruelty to children is just unacceptable

When was the last time you cried?
Listening to a CD as we were driving, of Watoto kids, an African choir <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa>  that is dedicated to improving the way of life for children in Africa. It’s happy and full of hope.

Who did you last receive a text from and what did it say?
From my husband: “And Portugal won 7 – 0. Hooray!”

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
Probably would leave first name as it is; but keep just one surname: in good Southern European tradition, I have 2 first names and 5 surnames, which makes it hard work signing official paper work!!

What is your favourite thing about The Body Shop Foundation?
Making a difference to grass roots organisations and giving an opportunity to fantastic causes that might otherwise not have been given a chance.

What one skill or talent do you have that no-one knows about?
Reading medieval music,  which was written in squares, as I have specialised in Gregorian chants when I studied music. Not something that comes handy very often though, I have to say….

Here’s a few nuggets of information about one of our newest trustees.

I am the International Sustainable Development Manager for The Body Shop. I basically help to set strategy that ensures the business lives up to its Values. I’m also responsible for engaging with our NGO partners – such as WWF, Greenpeace and Oxfam, and for producing The Body Shop Values Report.

I wanted to be a Trustee of The Body Shop because I think it’s a really important part of The Body Shop’s heritage. The Foundation has an amazing impact on smaller, sometimes unconventional charitable groups, which would otherwise find it hard to secure funding. I really wanted to be a part of that.

And the following 10 questions we ask absolutely everyone…

Apart from your home and car, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought? A round-the-world trip with my now wife.

What’s been the most embarrasing moment of your life? Receiving a ‘highly commended’ certificate in sewing classes at school when I was 13. I was told at school assembly that I showed exceptional sewing talent for a boy of my age.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I’d eliminate infant mortality

If you were invisible for a day, what would be the first thing you’d do? I’d shadow Barrack Obama for the day.

If you had a pound to give to charity, which collection tin would you pop it in? Small school for the blind in Mumbai, India, with very few overheads but does amazing work

When was the last time you cried? The birth of my son

Who did you last receive a text from and what did it say? The last text I received was from a friend saying (expletives are edited but you get the picture). Are you watching the game? France are losing – they are ***** ******

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? Peregrine. I think it goes well with my surname.

What is your favourite thing about The Body Shop Foundation? I love the fact that it is edgy.

What one skill or talent do you have that no-one knows about? I can put on a very convincing Scottish accent (Edinburgh not Glasgow).

We also said a massive ‘welcome’ to new trustees, recruited internally from The Body Shop International and have pleasure in welcoming the following new Trustees on board:

Simon Henzell-Thomas, Sustainable Development Manager

Joana Edwards, Finance Director UK

Vicki Rayment, Copy Approval Manager

Jonathan Staunton, Asset Manager

We’d like to take this opportunity of welcoming them all to the table and look forward to working with them all going forward.  Welcome to the team!

We were all eager to get out onto safari, so we directly went out onto a night time game drive with a small Zambian man and a big torch leading the way.  The English zoos could never compare to seeing such magnificent animals in their natrual habitat.  Leopards, lions, elephants and girafes are naming but a few and the local’s commitment to protecting the animals from deforestation was evident in the projects we later visited.

You could imagine yourself in Anita’s footsteps when all walked into the Malimba project the next day.   With a huge zambian welcome of singing and funky african dancing, we were introduced to the local women who were producing a new innovative type of fuel.   The gratitude of the women who knew that The Body Shop Foundation had donated vital funding was humbling.

When a strong looking head-dressed woman stood and explained in her native language how the project gave her hope for a brighter future for her impoverished village and growing extended family, there was not a dry eye.

We stood in sun later in the afternoon, looking out onto the magnificent Luangwe River, the hippos were snorting loudly and the mud was betweeen our toes.   I realised in that moment how this natural beauty and peace surrounding us, was the type of splendour Anita would have wanted me to celebrate every day in store.

Jane

I am so happy and so glad to see all the projects here and also sad because you see the poverty and hard life of the people but despite this are so happy and you can see the joy in their eyes.  It is giving me so much healing in my heart.  At the wildlife centre it was amazing to see the animals and also see the people who working with the animals, they really love it.  Catherine the vet was fantastic, we saw the monkeys being given a health check and I helped Josifh, one of the workers, with the cleaning of five baboon houses.  We then went to the orphanage.  My first tears fell as we got out of the car.  It was fantastic to be there, a glad feeling and I think we can do lots for them.  A full day on Wednesday visiting the Microloan Foundation and again full of emotion.  I am so glad and happy that I have had this opportunity to see Malawi and all these projects.  Now I can understand more of what The Body Shop Foundation does which is marvellous.  Lots of hugs and love Jane.