Ethical HR

Imagine a place where abused animals can feel safe, homeless people have a home with an address so they can apply for jobs, and people with mental health challenges can find calm.

This is my vision. To have land and create this safe place where all of these things can be aligned.

As determined as I am, I am fully aware that to create my vision is not an easy task!!

So, not one to be put off by logic, I am pursuing two avenues to raise the funds and make this dream a reality.

1 – I have published my first children’s book on Amazon and sale proceeds will go towards my vision.

2 – I am going to attempt my first triathlon at the age of 56 and all sponsorship will go towards my vision. 

My children’s book is currently available on Amazon for £7.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grab-your-wellies-Amanda-Parvin/dp/1919631402/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=amanda+parvin&qid=1697471385&sr=8-1

This book and the future books in the series are based on my two children and their friends when they were younger. They are now 27 and 23 years old. The books focus on kindness and helping others which is quite pertinent to the aim of my vision.   

The stories are based on our adventures with a little mix of magical imagination. 

When my children were young, funds were very limited, we spent hours doing things that didn’t cost anything.  From splashing in puddles, blackberry picking, sleepovers in the tree house and sliding down muddy banks on our butts!!

We had free, innocent, healthy fun. 

In the inside cover of Grab Your Wellies, you will see a picture of my vision. 

My triathlon

After finding a better place with my health this year, I have cycled some quite challenging distances.

As I don’t ever expect people to just hand over money to support my vision, I am very aware that I will have to work incredibly hard to raise sponsorship funding for my events.

So at the age of 55 and menopausal, I decided to challenge myself to compete at triathlons. 

I haven’t run for about 18 years.

My only experience of swimming is that of a child when I used to swim with my father, and I only learnt to do breast stroke.

I have an absolute fear of drowning and hate being underwater, but I realise that I will need to learn front crawl and put my head under water to be more efficient in my triathlon events. ! am seriously out of my comfort zone!

I have a lot of training to do and a lot of fears to get over but I hope my hard work and determination will be respected by others and they will be kind enough to sponsor my events.

I have a Crowdfunding page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/amanda-parvin-a-safe-place?utm_id=1&utm_term=64Y8E2AxV

I believe that my previous actions over the last couple of years demonstrate where my heart is. 

have given by time and energy unselfishly over the last couple of years for causes that I believe in. 

It all started with a frightened hungry cat that arrived in my garden. He had clearly been abused as he was terrified, starving and you could not get anywhere near him. 

As a crazy cat lady, already with 6 cats, I couldn’t let him be hungry, so my plan was to feed him, gain his trust and then carefully capture him so that he could be rehomed.

Unfortunately my plan didn’t quite work!

After a month of gently talking to him and offering ‘Dreamies’, he eventually allowed me to touch him.

It was obvious that he had never experienced affection, kindness or any love. 

He slowly learnt to trust me and I fell in love with him and he fell in love with me.

Our bond became so strong that, you guessed it, I decided to keep him. He wasn’t chipped, nor on a register of lost cats so he became my ‘No.7’.

He is beautiful, now 2 years on, he is the most loving, trusting,  gorgeous,  affection cat that you could ever get.

He is grateful for his loving home.  He taps me with his little paw if I don’t give him enough affection and I cuddle him like a baby. We are both complete soppys!!

Last year, I wanted to use my time and skills to cook for homeless people. It saddens me that people do not have the safety of a home, the least I could do was to cook a well-balanced meal full of kindness. 

As joint head chef for the Winter Shelter Project in Maidstone a team of us cooked for around 30 homeless people

once a week after being at work all day.

So now onto this year.

I decided to use my newly found love of road cycling to help others by raising funds.

Whilst dealing with the dreaded menopause and other health issues, I have trained week after week to become stronger and fitter. Riding in hale stones and rain is not much fun but no one ever said cycling was easy!!

In preparation for my big fundraising event at the end of the year, I completed a 115km ride, cycled up mountains for 4 days in Spain, completed a 100 mile Ride London event and completed the London to Brighton bike ride, with the nasty Ditchling Beacon to finish.

So my big event at the end of August/beginning of September, was a 286 mile bike ride from London To Paris for The Royal British Legion. 

It was utterly exhausting and I absolutely sobbed with relief when I finally got off my bike at the Arc De Triomphe.

Never one to sit still, as mentioned at the start of this article, I will be competing in triathlons and pushing the sales of my book. 



If you would like to donate to this cause, please feel free to click on the link or purchase Grab Your Wellies from Amazon.

Together I hope we can make a kind place.