Story & photo: Sophie Mei
Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire provided some gold for a Burngreave charity shop. On Tuesday 3rd May, it was revealed how a pregnant millionaire took a shine to Rainbow’s End, as entrepreneur Simrin (‘Simi’) Choudhrie dished out £100,000 towards a new building to develop other parts of the Rainbow work.
“Mum’s the Word”
Seven-month pregnant Simi kept her fortunes secret and pretended she was part of a show called ‘Mum’s the Word.’ Arriving in Pitsmoor to live on Scott Road, the programme showed a taxi driver warning that Burngreave is “like Beirut in the eighties,” only to be proved wrong by the warm welcome she received as a volunteer at Rainbow’s End on Spital Hill. Yvonne Hayes, Project Manager for Rainbow’s End, explained,
“We were a little cautious at first as I didn’t want the programme to show Pitsmoor in a bad light but, once we got to know the production team well, we felt at ease. Although Simi was treated like any other person looking to volunteer in the shop we just felt that there was something different but very good about her.”
Simi and the production crew were so overwhelmed by Yvonne’s, the Trustees’ and the Volunteers’ work that they decided to give the ‘Rainbow’s End family’ £100,000 to buy a second building plus £3,000 for supporting the volunteers with some fun in recognition of their hard work and commitment.
Yvonne was ‘speechless’ when she discovered that Simi was undercover:
“Everybody was crying – we just couldn’t believe it. This money is a gift for Burngreave and gives Rainbow’s End the chance to develop more ways of supporting our community.”
Yvonne and the rest of the ‘Rainbow’s End family’ treasured Simi as a “gift” and a “blessing” even before she revealed her fortunes. The feelings were mutual as Simi said:
“I want to stay involved in the charity and I absolutely loved my time in Burngreave. I want to thank everyone for making me feel so welcome. It really became my home.”
Call for clothes
Rainbow’s End relies on donations of clothes (or even rags for recycling) and unwanted items. Remember to shop there and you can become part of the Rainbow’s End family.
Rainbow’s End is open at Sorby House on Spital Hill: Monday – Saturday 10.30-5pm (4pm on Thursday).
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