About
Love, Amelia
Love, Amelia is a children’s charity offering support to families experiencing poverty and hardship across Tyne & Wear and County Durham, which is comprised of Sunderland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle, and County Durham.
We accept donations of pre-loved baby items in great condition and gift them to families who need them most. Since our launch in 2019, we have supported over 19,000 children in our community. The items we pass on are given with great care and love, ensuring that no child, from birth to 16 years old, goes without essential items.
Responding to the needs of our community is at the heart of what we do. Everything we do at Love, Amelia is designed to support families and ensure children have the essential items needed to be safe, happy and to thrive.
Our Lifetime Figures
View our impact report
Our Year In Numbers - 2023
Here at Love, Amelia we are committed to helping end child poverty which is why we are proud to be members of the End Child Poverty Coalition, working with likeminded organisations to help create lasting change for children in need
We believe everyone deserves a fair pay which is why we are committed to ensuring that all our employees receive a salary that accurately reflects the genuine cost of living.
Love, Amelia has been awarded Good Work Pledge Advanced by the North East Combined Authority. This highlights our commitment to our employees and the five pillars of the pledge: valuing and rewarding our workforce, promoting health and wellbeing, effective communication and representation, developing a balanced workforce, and social responsibility.
Love, Amelia his proud to be a member of the Baby Bank Alliance, a network of baby banks across the UK advocating for for families, ensuring babies and children have the essentials they need to thrive.
By collaborating with the Alliance, we strengthen our efforts to alleviate child poverty and support families in the North East region.
Meet The Team
Steph Capewell
Founder and Chief Executive
Steph is the founder and CEO of Love, Amelia and is mam to Amelia and son, Jack. Before starting Love, Amelia, Steph worked as a social worker in adult social services for several years. Her experience in this field gave a deep understanding of the struggles faced by vulnerable individuals and families. Steph is responsible for providing strategic leadership, overseeing operations, and cultivating relationships to effectively drive Love, Amelia’s mission and objectives.
“As a mam of two beautiful children, Amelia and Jack, I know first-hand how expensive it can be to raise a family and I myself have faced poverty in my childhood. After witnessing the hardship families face, I was inspired to create a resource that could help ease some of the financial burden of parenting. Since launching Love, Amelia, we’ve been able to help countless families across Tyne & Wear and County Durham by providing essentials like clothes, nappies and cots to families in need. Our team is passionate about giving back to our community, and we work tirelessly to ensure that every family who comes to us receives the support they need.”
Contact Steph by email at steph@loveamelia.org.uk
Elliott Fowle
Operations Manager
Elliott’s role is to ensure the daily operations of Love, Amelia are delivered efficiently and help to plan for the future of our organisation. Elliott helps to lead our growing team of staff and volunteers in our unit to help deliver Love, Amelia’s core service.
Elliott joined Love, Amelia in July 2023 after wanting a change from the corporate sector after feeling inspired to engage in work he felt was more meaningful and fulfilling.
Contact Elliott by email at elliott@loveamelia.org.uk
Vicky Norman
Project Lead
Vicky joined Love, Amelia as Project Lead in 2024 after a dedicated year of volunteering with us. She now leads our child poverty prevention initiatives in partnership with the North East Combined Authority and manages Love, Amelia’s quarterly projects and campaigns. With a strong background in finance and project management, Vicky brings a wealth of expertise and shares our deep commitment to supporting the youngest members of our community.
Contact Vicky by email at vicky@loveamelia.org.uk
Shannon Burnside
Business Support Officer
Shannon is responsible for the smooth running of our office and supports the team with wrap-around administrative support. Shannon is often the first point of contact for referrals and other enquiries. Shannon is a mam to one little boy and is passionate for supporting children to ensure no child is without.
Prior to joining our team, Shannon worked at EE and discovered Love, Amelia through a corporate volunteering day. Inspired by what the service offers, Shannon applied for the role and joined the team in 2022.
Contact Shannon by email at shannon@loveamelia.org.uk
Sarah Jobling
Referrals Coordinator
Sarah is responsible for the beginning-to-end referral process, ensuring requests are processed and prepared ready for collection. Sarah liaises with our referral partners to ensure all referrals are completed in an efficient, timely and supportive manner. Sarah joined the team in 2023 after wanting a change in career from the sales sector, moving to the voluntary sector to give back to the community.
“‘After many years in the property sales industry I wanted a new worthwhile path to follow and Love, Amelia provides this in abundance”
Contact Sarah by email at sarah@loveamelia.org.uk
Wendy Teasdale
Donations Co-ordinator
Wendy is responsible for processing incoming donations of pre-loved items and equipment. All donations are cleaned, quality checked and where necessary, safety checked to ensure they are in suitable condition to distribute to families. Wendy is responsible for managing stock in the warehouse and putting together our donation wishlist.
Andrea Parkin
Volunteer & Donations Co-ordinator
Starting as a volunteer with Love, Amelia in January 2023, Andrea quickly become part of the team and is now working full time as our donations and volunteer coorindator. Andrea is responsible for processing incoming donations of pre-loved items and equipment as well as supporting volunteers during their time with us. All donations are cleaned, quality checked and where necessary, safety checked to ensure they are in suitable condition to distribute to families. Andrea and Wendy are responsible for managing stock in the warehouse and putting together our donation wishlist.
Dave Gurling
Driver and Warehouse Operative
Dave joined Love, Amelia in 2024 as our dedicated Driver and Warehouse Operative. He plays a vital role in ensuring that families in need receive essential items and support, directly impacting the wellbeing of children across the North East. Dave is responsible for transporting goods for families from our warehouse to various locations, collecting donations from individual and corporate donors, and maintaining high standards of organisation within our warehouse. His commitment helps keep our operations running smoothly, rain or shine.
Albus
Chief Happiness Officer
Albus is a toy Cockapoo, born in Durham and adopted by Steph in December 2018. Albus may not know how to type or prepare a baby bundle, but he is an expert in tail wagging, face licking, belly rubs, and providing much-needed stress relief to all human colleagues. His favourite hobbies include sleeping under desks, begging for treats, and stealing teddies when nobody’s looking.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Meet The Trustees
Craig Bankhead
Chair of Trustees
Phillip Capewell
Trustee
Phill lives in Sunderland and is a father of two to Amelia and Jack and is very passionate about supporting families in Amelia’s memory. Phill moved to working in the voluntary sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, seeking meaningful and fulfilled work after working in corporate services throughout his career. Phill currently works as Program Director at Society Matters CIC delivering social welfare training and consultancy throughout the UK.
Carly Holliday
Trustee
Zoe Hull
Trustee
Zoe is an honorary mackem, originally from Surrey she has lived in the North East for over 15 years. She loves living in Sunderland and has two children with her husband. Zoe is a fundraising professional with many years’ experience in the charity sector. Zoe is a Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at Northern Stage.
Jen Archbold
Trustee
Jen is a mam of two children, Alice and Reuben and has lived across Sunderland and South Tyneside all of her life. She is passionate about the city and the people within it and has over 10 years experience working as a Social Worker with both children and adults with varying backgrounds and experiences. Jen currently works as a Safeguarding Coordinator with Gateshead Council and understands the difficulties people within the North East face day to day and the strain services are under to support those who need it most.
Bob McGurrell
Trustee
Bob has lived in Sunderland all of his life, raising his children and grandchildren in the area. Bob joined the board of trustees in 2022 and is committed to support families experiencing poverty and hardship, understanding the challenges this can bring when raising a family. Bob currently works as the Chief Executive of 4louis, a Sunderland based child bereavement charity, and remains committed to ensuring families have access to the support they deserve.
