The creation of Hampers with Soul is a story of legacy and human empathy.
I have asked myself two questions repeatedly for many years:
Number 1 “What am I going to do when I grow up”?
Number 2 “What legacy am in going to leave behind”?
It has taken me some time to get here, but I am so pleased that I have arrived. I don’t think I have grown up yet, but I am going to tackle question 2 with passion and gusto!
My Magical Pony Tale goes something like this:
I practiced Physiotherapy for 10 years before founding Bockers & Pony in 2004. My 14 years of experience in ecommerce, marketing and the delivery of luxurious gifts, will undoubtedly help me on this next adventure.
After selling and exiting Bockers & Pony in 2018; it was clear that I needed to carefully consider tackling this longstanding desire for a legacy project. Fresh, focussed and ready to tackle a difficult problem in Australia.
I want to do what I can do with my talents and resources to focus on the issue of homelessness. I honestly believe that no-one in Australia should have to sleep on the street.
I think about how I react when I see a homeless person. I always feel sad and don’t really have the ability to even understand what it would be like to be homeless. I am not sure what to do and once I have passed a homeless person, I get on with my ‘busy’ day. It is an awkward response to a big problem.
Travelling to Toronto in April 2018 really woke me up. It was the light bulb moment. With light snow and so many homeless people sleeping on the street, it really made me think. With empathy, I find homelessness so sad and highly disturbing.
So, I came up with this idea to build a ‘for profit for purpose’ business to help the homeless in Australia. Through much research and conversation, I decided to help Simon Rowe and the Sleepbus Organisation. Simon Rowe is an entrepreneur and former rough sleeper. I believe that he has created a trust-worthy Charitable Organisation that ensures that the funds raised go directly to providing impact for the people in need. Hampers with Soul is going to support SleepBus by giving a percentage of sales, not profits, to the Sleepbus Organisation. Every purchase from Hampers with Soul will see a percentage of sales go directly to Sleepbus. We are committed to tracking our progress in terms of how many safe sleeps for the homeless we provide. We would love your support and welcome you to our adventure. For more new news and information, head over to our JOURNAL . We have a great interview with Simon Rowe from sleepbus.org which goes into more detail.
There is another part to this story. I also really want to inspire other business owners to ‘do what they can do’ as well. We are in a powerful position as business owners and whilst the contribution may seem small to start, I believe that the impact will grow. What if 10, 100, 1000 or 10,000 other businesses did this?
OUR MISSION is to align with Sleepbus in a charitable partnership to bring safe, temporary overnight accommodation to people sleeping rough in Australia.
OUR PURPOSE is to Provide Safe Sleeps and awareness for the Homeless in Australia.
OUR VALUES are to build our business with kindness, be collaborative, and be the change you seek.
Thank-you for popping by. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn
Leonie Henzell
Founder and CEO
Hampers with Soul
1300 911 565