'Accidental' charity founders stunned by MBEs

The founders of a charity providing hygiene products to people living in poverty have said they were "absolutely stunned" to be made MBEs in the King's Birthday Honours.

Journalist and broadcaster Sali Hughes and beauty public relations expert Jo Jones said they founded Beauty Banks "accidentally" after Hughes visited a Cardiff homeless shelter in 2017.

The charity was registered in 2018 and now provides hygiene and beauty products to more than 2,000 charities in the UK.

Jones, who lives in Surrey, said she and Hughes were "shameless hustlers" and work hard to keep their small charity running.

"It just feels like quite an unreal moment, like a pinch me moment," the 49-year-old said of their honours.

Hughes, 51, who was homeless as a teenager, recalled the day in 2017 when she had been sitting in the reception of Cardiff's largest homeless shelter waiting for cameras to set up to make a current affairs report.

She said: "I looked under the desk and there was a little cardboard box with single tampons, little shower gels and things like that in a box, and I said to a member of staff 'what's this for?'."

Hughes, originally from south Wales but now living in Brighton, discovered they had been brought in by volunteers for clients to use when they had their period, a job interview or a housing meeting.

She said she had taken a picture of the box and sent it to Jones, with a message saying: "What the hell is this?"

Jones replied: "I reckon we could do something about this."

Hughes said she wrote a column the next day, adding: "By the end of that week, we were being followed around by film crews and it was chaotic, and we accidentally launched a charity."

Of the honours, the journalist said: "We're stunned. We're absolutely stunned.

"We had no idea we were in discussion. We had no idea we were in the running until we got our letters."

Other South East residents recognised include The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson and Peter James, writer of the Roy Grace series.

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