For Katie Piper, teaching her daughters Belle, 11, and Penelope, seven, how to navigate life is extremely important.
“I try to lead by example and with compassion,” she tells us. “I think they absorb that, and they watch you.”
The TV presenter and model certainly demonstrates her caring side, having founded the Katie Piper Foundation in 2009 to support burns survivors – something Katie experienced herself as the victim of an acid attack in 2008.
“It’s not about me at all anymore; it’s about the people we help,” says Katie, 41.
When burns survivors come to her charity, their lives change forever. “It feels irreversible; they’re trying to find a way to rebuild the quality of their life and live it to the full.
“When we work with people for a long time, we see them going back to work, meeting new people, getting married – people who didn’t leave the house for months having a social life. It’s really encouraging seeing people reintegrating back into society.
“Burns survivors often experience quite severe psychological trauma,” she says. “It could be as extreme as being suicidal, having post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression or low levels of self-esteem, and trying to access support can be really difficult. We’re able to fill that gap.
“With the right support and treatment, people can live an exceptional life, follow their dreams and goals, and feel good about themselves again.”
© Katie Piper FoundationThrough Big Give’s Small Charity Week campaign, her foundation hopes to raise £10,000 (£20,000 when doubled by Big Give) to fund specialist psychotherapy, with excess funds supporting the wider rehabilitation programme.
“I think Big Give is a really clever initiative because they truly understand smaller charities and how difficult it is to raise money,” Katie tells us.
Aside from her charity work, life is full for Katie right now. She hosts Katie Piper’s Weekend Escapes on ITV on Sundays and has a new book out, Still Beautiful.
“It’s about beauty, ageing, and taking up space – not feeling like you need to shrink yourself, particularly as you go into different decades. Power doesn’t lie in being forever beautiful.”
© Katie Piper FoundationThis November, Katie has a big milestone: her ten-year wedding anniversary with her carpenter husband Richard Sutton.
The secret to marital bliss? “We try to be flexible, to support each other’s work, and lots of communication.”
Over the next two years, voluntary work is her priority and she has just made a new documentary series on U&W called Locked up in Louisiana, with its five episodes filmed in US women’s prisons.
“I’d love to help more in women’s prisons. There are better ways to rehabilitate women prisoners than the current set-up. Many are unwell – they need support and empathy, as well as opportunity.”
Big Give’s Small Charity Week
Small Charity Week is organised by Big Give, Global’s Make Some Noise and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), and runs from 23 to 30 June.
The match-funded campaign sees philanthropists and funders double the public’s donations to the 189 charities, which each have annual incomes of less than £1 million.
“Small charities are the beating heart of our communities,” says James Reed, chair of the trustees of Big Give. “But they’re facing a triple whammy of rising costs, falling income, and increasing demand.
“Every donation made this week will go twice as far – helping these small charities stay open and keep making a difference. I hope people will get behind this campaign and choose a small charity to support.”
Big Give is championing small charities across the UK in their upcoming Small Charity Week campaign, which runs from 23 June to 30th June. To support a small charity, visit: https://donate.biggive.org/small-charity-week-2025
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