A woman who helped set up a charity to provide toiletries to those in need has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Karen Harvey from Upwell has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the honours announced on Saturday for services to people living in hygiene poverty, to considerate consumption, and to the environment.
She founded Toiletries Amnesty (TA) in 2014 for one homeless shelter in Cambridge, using spare, unwanted, or unused toiletry products, and the project has grown to provide more than 800 charitable organisations in the UK and worldwide.
She has built up TA without any funding and has put her energy into the project, not just through creating a now comprehensive directory of where people can donate, but sometimes driving across the UK to deliver items to organisations in need.
By providing access to vital products such as toothpaste and brushes, soap, and sanitary products, TA ensures people have what they need, when they need it.
In 2023, it provided access to toiletries and hygiene essentials to four million people and diverted hundreds of thousands of products from landfill.
In 2019 Karen joined the CEO Sleepout which aims to fight homelessness and poverty one city at a time.
On her Justgiving page at the time Karen said: “We must talk about homelessness, we must show people support, and we must do all the small things we can to make a big change. If we can do anything to help improve that situation, then I'd be grateful.
“Toiletries Amnesty, are teaming up with CEO Sleepout to fundraise and help the work we do towards ending hygiene poverty. Toiletries Amnesty supports homeless shelters, women's refuges, foodbanks, and other organisations across the UK and further afield, and we really need your support.”
