Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of working as part of a dream collaboration. To help launch Tanja Pleis Photography in the UK, we found one of the most inspiring stories for Tanja’s ‘She is Telling Your Story’ photoshoots. Alongside two of my trusted experts, Abi from Tailormade Social and Tash from Culpepper & Co, we spent the day working with Julie Kent MBE and learning more about her incredible charity, Emily’s Gift.

I was even more thrilled when Julie agreed to take part in our Moments to Motivate blog series! She is officially the first charity founder that we’ve welcomed to the series, and there are so many valuable lessons that we can learn from her as female entrepreneurs and small business owners.

If ever there was a better story about the power of visibility, this is it! From starting something with no social at all to now embracing it to raise her charity’s profile and get those all important fundraising donations. Julie also gives us the perfect reminder to just show up as you, build trust with the people you want to do business with, and never be afraid to ask.

Its a goodie so I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Meet Julie Kent, MBE

Julie, wow. Thank you so much for agreeing to taking part in our Moments to Motivate series. I know that you will have so many valuable insights for the Your AJency business community!
In the community, there are people who are just at the ideas stage, perhaps have just launched or have an established business. They all are driven by a passion and a ‘why’, many with purpose-led businesses.

You are actually our first ever charity to feature in Moments to Motivate but this is a story to be told!

Tell us a little about your journey, including some of the highs and lows, how long ago you started, and what prompted you to take the plunge to start you charity.

We didn’t really plan to start a charity but when our daughter Emily died at the age of 3 in 1995 so many of our friends, relatives and parents of pupils I taught were devastated. Everyone wanted to do something to make a difference and so we started off by raising money for anaesthetic equipment for the BRI in Bristol. At the time, children couldn’t be scanned quick enough to see if their treatment was working. They needed to be anaesthetised for the scan and they couldn’t get the slots with only one set of equipment.

We got on a fundraising merry-go-round with so much support – it was incredible with lots of highs as the money and support flowed in. After about 6 years we had had a son and another daughter and I felt we needed to concentrate on them and so we folded the charity. It was sad like you think it would be. But it felt right and we had done a lot for the children with cancer in Gloucestershire, especially having a unit in Bristol named after Emily and the Emily Kent Unit for children on treatment in Gloucester to cover the whole county.

It’s incredible what you have managed to achieve, and Emily is obviously a key part of everything you do. We always talk about how important in marketing it is to share your why. Could you tell us more about why you chose to start a charity in Emily’s memory?

The ‘Why’ was we had to make Emily’s life worthwhile despite being short. Having Emily and raising money in her name gave us a little bit of pain relief. Us losing her had made a big positive difference to other children with cancer and their families. It wouldn’t have felt right for her short life not to have made a difference.

And what a difference you have been able to make. It’s so inspiring to hear what you’ve done over the years.

It's hard at the best of times to launch and run a business on your own, impossible in my opinion. Who and where have you sought the necessary support? What has been most useful?

Well, we started in the nineties when there wasn’t social media! We aimed to be in the local newspaper regularly. Our Charity Balls were big events at the Town Hall in Cheltenham and we had well-known guests. All the Trustees and support team were volunteers but well connected in the county. I had also worked as a gigging musician, playing sax and singing in different bands so knew the people at the venues who were then willing to support us. It also helped for us to get sponsorship for the balls because I knew a lot of people. We had to pay for some of the ball, but mainly at cost or we got businesses to sponsor it. We bigged them up in the brochure (or now we do it on social media), so there’s something in it for them too.

Things were definitely different in the 90s in terms of where you found your audience! How did you find your audience this time around with Emily’s Gift?

When we reformed Emily’s Trust into Emily’s Gift in 2023, we used social media big time! My mission was to get 250 businesses to donate £2k each to raise the half a million goal. I went to every business breakfast, lunch and drinks to get to as many businesses as possible and I gave them lots of coverage on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to promote their support. This even made businesses contact me that I didn’t know. They wanted to be connected to the cause. Maybe because we were all volunteers so they know no funds raised were going to salaries, phone bills, cars etc? But either way we used social media a lot this time around!

What was your background before starting Emily’s Trust, and then Emily’s Gift? How has it helped you in your mission?

I worked at an independent school for 13–18 year olds and ran a boarding house for 60 teenage girls 24/7 in term time for 20 years. I taught a lot of children at the school over the years, I looked after a lot of girls. Their parents were lawyers and business people who appreciated what I had done for their children and so, they were keen to help me when I started fundraising.

With Emily’s Gift, I just made sure that I was everywhere! I think it was easier because the campaign was only one year so I could keep it going for a limited amount of time. I didn’t really have any fundraising background except organising events. I had to break it all down to get to the big £500k as I knew I was never going to reach that with just events. Businesses were the key.

I always tell any start up business owner, to think about their network and tap into it and that is exactly what you did. But also another important reminder, realising that perhaps you can keep going more intensely when you know it’s a limited amount of time. But long-term, it’s just not sustainable!

How do you strike the balance and set boundaries between work and life? How do you pick what to say no to?

I am the worst person to ask about saying NO!! I hardly ever say no and it causes me stressful times to try and please everyone! I set the campaign to be a year so I knew there would be an end, and now we are continuing to raise funds for a blood machine which was not the original plan!

You never know when an opportunity might arise so I like to be everywhere BUT I am about to stand the charity down as the charity of choice for some networks. I have learnt that I cannot keep up the level of awareness without my team and they only signed up to a year as they all run their own businesses too. We will have accomplished the goal we set out to achieve.

Absolutely! And more too by the sounds of it!! I know success looks different for everyone, but what is success for you? What has been your personal highlight for Emily's gift so far?

The biggest success has been hitting the £500k goal and a psychologist being in-situ on the Emily Kent Unit. She has surpassed all my expectations. I receive messages from parents of children with cancer and the children themselves. I’ve also been told by some nurses how the psychologist we funded is helping them too to help the families. It makes me cry to read them. It really is a gift from Emily and us.

What is the best advice anyone has given you in terms of starting a charity?

I am not sure anyone has but I would say that raising money for charity is all about trust – very like doing business with people. If the people trust you they will donate to your cause. I also think people like to know exactly where the money is going – so the psychologist and now the blood machine. They are less likely to put it into a bottomless pot I think

Oh love this and it is soo true, trust is one of my own key values for sure. I know how important their businesses are to the founders I work with, so I want them to know they can trust me and their investment in my help is worth it.

And is there one single thing you have done that resulted in growth? If you could only do one thing, what would it be?

I turned up religiously at networking meetings. I was a member of two groups that met at 6.45 am every other week. I turned up or sent a sub for two years and this resulted in raising over £100k from the groups. One was a substantial legacy from a will. If I hadn’t been there and got to know the niece of the lady who died – I wouldn’t have received the big donation.

I mean you literally practice what I preach! I think there is extra power in person personally but you have to do what is comfortable for you.

And what about the one thing you would have done differently?

Maybe tried to get a bigger team? Or got someone to do more social media earlier on – it was a bit hit and miss!

Ok, so if you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it—metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions—what would it say and why?

Charity wise:

We all dread the word ‘Cancer’ but if you are told your child has cancer, it is indescribable.

Personally:

Always Be Yourself

What is next for you, Julie? And what’s next for your charity?

Emily’s Gift will continue under the Pied Piper Appeal umbrella but I will not actively be campaigning.

In 2025, I will be taking on the role of High Sheriff of Gloucestershire! I would like to be a High Sheriff that actually rolls my sleeves up and get involved e.g. does a night with the police on patrol, or a night’s duty with the fire brigade. I don’t want to just turn up at awards or an event to say well done!!! I would also like to raise awareness of children who are excluded from school in their teenage years.

…And I am going to write a book with fundraising ideas!

So just a few things then! It sounds like you will continue to have a busy time ahead, but so inspiring to see all the various things you do to help your community. Thank you so much for talking to us!

Julie Kent MBE is a force of nature who is known for voluntary fundraising on a small and large scale, playing her sax at events and talking about the power of giving.

Julie trained to be a sax player and singer at Leeds College of Music and taught and then became a boarding Housemistress at an independent school in Cheltenham, living with and looking after 60 teenage girls 7 days a week in term time.

Since losing her daughter at the age of 3 from a brain tumour she has fundraised for children with cancer forming the Emily Kent Trust and the children’s cancer unit at Glos Royal Hospital is called the Emily Kent Unit. She has also fundraised for Breast Cancer and other charities whilst heading up Community Action with the students at Dean Close School.

She was awarded an MBE in June 2020 and received her medal from Prince William two years later. In the last year she has raised half a million pounds in one year to fund a psychologist on the Emily Kent Unit to provide psychological support for the children on treatment and their families. The appeal is continuing to fund more equipment on the Emily Kent Unit.

In 2025 Julie will be the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire representing the King in judicial matters in the County.

Find out more on Julie’s website, Instagram or LinkedIn. To read more about Emily’s Gift and how it is helping children with cancer in Gloucestershire, follow them on Instagram or check out their website.

Do you know someone with an inspiring story, whether they run their own business or charity? We’re always on the lookout for inspiring stories with female founders to share with our Your AJency business community.

Send us an email! We’d love to hear from you.