Last updated on November 17th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
Providing intensive support to families across Doncaster, Vicky Kenny is Senior Family Support Worker for The Parenting and Family Support Services (PAFSS). Here, she speaks to The Hygiene Bank about the massive impact smol’s laundry detergent donations are having on the vulnerable families she works with.
“On a typical day, my department could be working with 10 different families in crisis, turning our hands to everything from parenting work and child development to supporting medical appointments and budgeting,” says Vicky.
“Taking in a bag full of hygiene products really helps us as practitioners – to get through the door and maintain a relationship with the families. This has been especially helpful when we need to be firm and say that unless things improve, we may have to visit with a social worker. Giving a bag of cleaning products means we can say, here are the things you need. I’m coming back tomorrow and I want to see the kitchen clean and tidy. The smol capsules have been so well received”.
Smol’s generosity has also had a positive payoff to school-parent relations. “Parents are engaging more with teachers and other professionals because they aren’t ashamed about how they look or smell. Plus we have been able to give washing capsules to schools, so if a child has an accident during the school day, staff can wash the child’s clothes and send them back with some clean uniform for the next day”.
Undoubtedly, having Smol capsules, along with other essential hygiene products from The Hygiene Bank, has created vast improvements for families struggling during the cost of living crisis. “For us and social care, these donations have been incredibly important as we no longer have to wait for Universal Credit payments and other benefits to be paid. If a parent tells us they can’t buy washing powder because they need to feed their children, we can take in what they need and achieve change immediately, which has been amazing.”
Meeting with children on her caseload every two weeks, Vicky is excited to see first hand the boost having clean clothes can have on a child’s self-confidence. “You have to remember that a child has no control over how they live and whether or not they have clean school uniform, so taking the Smol capsules into families and watching them put on a wash full of school uniform has been magical,” says Vicky. “You and I might take clean clothes for granted, but for some children it’s a luxury. I see kids walk a little bit taller, with their heads held up, as it is no longer a problem to get a little bit closer to others. Rather than hiding away at the back, these children stop being afraid to get close to their peers and school staff. Smol is literally improving children’s lives by donating their products”.
