102 | SATURDAY | 30.04.22 | The GuardianSirin Kale Guardian angel
Making nice things happen for nice people
K
ayla Ellis’s children came
home from school recently
and asked their mother what
was going on: the hallway
was full of bags of clothing,
trainers and toys. Ellis
remembers her own mother
also eyeing the chaos – and
telling her she’d bitten off
more than she could chew. Her mother was referring
to the unoffi cial charity shop that Ellis has installed
in her house. Ellis, a 31-year-old gardener from
Cardiff , says: “I’ve got some builders coming next
week to give me a quote to build a shed in the
garden, so I can store the rest of the stuff in there.”
Ellis did not intend to create a charity shop in her
house; it just sort of happened. (Technically, it’s not
a charity shop, as all items are free, but locals call itoften see young people on there asking for items for
free. One boy, she recalled, asked if anyone had a
spare school tie, because his parents couldn’t aff ord
to buy him one. Another teenager was asking for a
mobile phone. A third was desperate for a specifi c
hooded sweatshirt.
She thought about items in her house that she no
longer needed, and rummaged around in her
drawers, unearthing mobile phones and a tablet she
no longer used. Ellis posted them on Facebook ,
asking if anyone would like them. Within minutes,
they were claimed. “I thought OK,” she says, “ there
are kids out there who need this stuff .”
Next, she began soliciting donations from her
community , asking for anything clean and in good
condition that young people might want: toys,
electronics, clothes, makeup, shoes. The donations
started rolling in immediately, and haven’t stopped.
“Everyone has been absolutely amazing,” she says.
The day we speak, she’s just had someone drop
off an iPad mini, an iPod, some hair straighteners
and some unused makeup. Tomorrow, she’s going
to collect a PlayStation 4. She’s also had Nintendo
Wiis, board games, and endless toys, clothes and
shoes. Whenever anything comes in, Ellis posts
details on her Facebook page , and it goes to the fi rst
person to claim it. Ellis does drop-off s twice a week,
or people are welcome to collect from her in the
evenings – her doorbell is constantly ringing.
Nothing hangs about for long.
“What she’s doing is amazing. She puts all her
time and eff ort into helping people. It’s rare when
you see that, ” says Dawn Duggan, a mother of 10
who knows fi rst-hand how hard it is to get her
children all the latest gadgets. Her son recently broke
his phone – it fell out of his pocket when cycling to
school – and Ellis helped source him a new one. “He
went there straight after school and she gave him it,”
Duggan says. “He couldn’t believe it.”
“I’m shocked at how many people are struggling
at the moment,” Ellis says. “We’re going through a
crisis.” Many families who contact her are in work,
but don’t have money for luxuries. “I welcome
everyone, not just people on benefi ts. Children
shouldn’t just have the basics of life. They should
have the kinds of games and toys their peers have.”
Ellis is also giving a second life to items that are
often destined to landfi ll. “This is stuff that might
otherwise be going to the tip,” she says. “We’re
doing our bit for the planet.”
For a treat, Ellis asks for something unexpected:
cleaning products. “I love a good cleaning session,”
she says. “There’s nothing better. I like to get stuck
in before the kids get back from school. There’s that
half-hour where everything is immaculate and it’s
all nice and peaceful.” Plus, as her “charity shop” is
in her home, it’s good to stay on top of the mess.
Eco-friendly cleaning brand Iron & Velvet provides
Ellis with a year’s worth of supplies, plus reusable
bottles and cloths. Ellis is already eyeing up her oven
for a good scrub. “I can’t wait,” she says. And with
the prospect of getting her home in order, a charity-
shop-running mother is very satisfi ed.
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a treat at [email protected]Charity begins at home
Kayla Ellis runs a
donations-based
giving service from
her Cardiff home‘Children deserve more than the
basics’: the mother who turned
her home into a charity shop
SATURDAY
Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardianthat and it has caught on.) The idea started when her
son was picked on at school because he didn’t have a
trendy backpack.
Ellis knew from personal experience how much
having the “right” items – the fashionable bag,
trainers and coat – matters when you’re a teenager.
“My mum worked hard to get me everything I
needed when I was a child,” she says. “But I didn’t
always have the stuff everyone else had.” She
remembers being obsessed as a teen with a specifi c
pair of gold earrings that all her friends had but she
couldn’t aff ord.
“Children shouldn’t be made to feel they are
diff erent from anyone else,” she says. “They should
feel equal to their surroundings and peers. I know
what it feels like when you don’t, and it’s not nice.”
Ellis is a member of a number of local buy-and-
sell Facebook groups, and over the years she would*