28/05/2026
My GROW promise 🌱
This is what I had 2.5 minutes to explain to local residents… sweaty palms, while trying not to talk at 100mph, forget every word I’d practised, combust from hormonal panic, or accidentally introduce myself as “Hi, I’m peri-menopause” halfway through 😂🫶🏻…
But honestly, jokes aside… the last 18 months have been really hard. Trying to be a mum, work, run a business, keep showing up for people, and somehow hold everything together has pushed me more than I probably admit out loud.
So here we go….
Loneliness doesn’t always look like isolation. Sometimes it’s people living side by side without truly connecting. In a diverse borough like Barking & Dagenham, there’s a growing need for welcoming spaces where people feel included, supported, and connected.
My family runs the Eastbrookend Country Park Tea Room, where we regularly see people arrive alone and leave having made a conversation, friendship, or connection. It’s not just my personal family, it’s my team, volunteers, SEND students, our rangers and our customers too.
That’s why we’re developing Rootino — creating opportunities that bring people together through wellbeing, creativity, movement, conversation, and community support.
Rootino builds on the community already naturally happening through initiatives like Walk & Talk, Knit & Natter, quizzes, Park Fit, Menopause Café (yes just what I need) multicultural craft sessions, and volunteer-led activities.
Community has always been at the heart of what I do.
I previously co-founded Soft Play Essex in Mothercare in Romford and Edmonton and later I founded The Baby Bank HQ, which grew from a small coat campaign into a registered charity now known as Kideco, supporting hundreds of families across Essex and East London.
Rootino is an opportunity to turn everyday community moments into something even more meaningful — creating consistent, low-pressure spaces where people can build confidence, friendships, purpose, and belonging.
We believe simple interactions — a conversation, a shared activity, a walk in the park, or simply a reason to leave the house — can make a real difference to mental wellbeing and social connection.
Our vision is to strengthen community connections and reduce loneliness through inclusive, welcoming shared experiences that bring people together across cultures and generations.
Through regular activities and community events, Rootino creates opportunities for people to connect naturally through movement, creativity, conversation, and shared experiences.
We also want to empower volunteers, facilitators, and local communities with the confidence, skills, and support to help Rootino grow sustainably and inclusively.
Our longer-term vision is to create more spaces where hospitality, nature, movement, and community support work together to improve wellbeing and belonging.
Just like Kideco, where the community now supports one another through giving, sharing, and recycling — because one person’s unwanted item can become another family’s lifeline.
That same spirit of care, connection, and community is what Rootino hopes to continue building across Barking & Dagenham and beyond.
We’re starting locally, with the ambition to grow Rootino into a wider network of community wellbeing hubs. Because no one should feel invisible in their own community.
Person by person.
Connection by connection.
That’s how stronger communities are built.
Because in the end, we’re all in this together.
Thank you Kelly 💕
And finally… a huge thank you to our amazing team and the park rangers, who truly are such a big part of what makes Eastbrookend Country Park so special. 🌿
Behind every conversation, community event, smiling face, cup of tea, and welcoming atmosphere is a group of people who genuinely care about the park and the people in it.
Rootino may be my vision, but community is always built by people coming together — and Eastbrookend is lucky to have exactly that 🫶🏻
I now cant wait to Grow with the other finalists and be part of the wider BD Giving family 🫶🏻
Barking & Dagenham Giving
