Hi, I’m Nicola…co-founder of CareBox and this is a little sneak peek into our story so far…

The CareBox idea is 2 years old now!  Hmmm, I’m wondering where the time has gone as we prepare to go ‘live’, finally! What a steep learning curve this has been.  I’ve been a stay at home mom to our boys but they are getting older now and I really felt like I wanted to do something that would fit around my family.  While driving, somewhere between Aliwal North and Bloemfontein, a little thought crept into my mind – what is it that people don’t have a lot of these days….TIME.  Through my own personal experiences and journeying with others during their experiences, I’ve developed a heart for care (& drinking tea) knowing how important it is to reach out to people in their time of crisis. Care takes time.  Then my thought grew a little more and I thought how lovely it would be to be able to knock on someone’s door and deliver a thoughtful little gift put together with care especially for their current situation.

Hello CareBox my little treasure…I realise I need to start talking about you more and sharing you with others.  Every time I have an overwhelming feeling of ‘can I do this’  I remember what’s at the heart of this project and am reminded how much care this world needs.  Receiving a CareBox will be as close to actually giving the person a hug, reminding them that they’re not alone, they’re loved and that they are going to get through this. It allows a person to show a loved one genuine love and care and basic understanding of what they’re going through by offering something that may just ease their journey a little and provide hope. 

But CareBox is so much more than the actual gift…it’s about gifting courage and hope in a box for both the person giving and receiving the gift.

I didn’t verbalise my idea for at least a month, it felt like I was carrying around a little pearl in my mind.  Finally I plucked up the courage to share it with Denton, my husband and after I finished telling him I waited for his thoughts and after what seemed like ages he said to me…’When do you start!’  Yay, my first (& greatest supporter). This is when I realised that the idea now needed to turn into an action plan.  Denton’s support, encouragement & reassurance has been steadfast as I started creating something from nothing.  What a journey it has been full of support, love and honest opinions that I’ve been blessed with.  It all became very real when my angel investor, Angus, came on board. Thank you all for believing in CareBox.  I’m so grateful for this opportunity I have to be able to share love and care with others because it’s been shown to me.  Without the care I received I wouldn’t be who I am today and for that I’m eternally grateful. 

Our plan is to grow organically while CareBox continues to touch peoples lives by providing a means to show care and understanding to someone who needs it because our love lends them strength.  If there’s been one learning for me during all of this it is that it’s about the little things we do, they matter a lot!