Carol Mitchell, 69, was born in Northern India. She and her family returned to England in 1953 when she was 5, spending the next 14 years in Newcastle. In 1970 they moved to Northampton, where her father bought a shoe factory. Carol says, ‘I always wanted to live in Northampton for some reason – I think it’s because my grandma was from here.’
She now lives in a terraced house on Clare Street that she bought with her husband for £4500, 45 years ago! Carol’s husband, Arthur sadly passed away in 2019, and she speaks about how The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation has helped her since then:
Since then, The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation’s founder, Teresa has reached out to Carol and offered help where she can. When the UK went into lockdown due to COVID-19, Carol was advised to isolate and The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation delivered essential food parcels to her each week.
Whilst dropping off Carol’s weekly parcels, she had mentioned to the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation volunteers that her home was in a bit of a mess and she was unable to sort it out herself. Once lockdown had eased, the volunteers got to work. They redecorated two of her bedrooms including laying a new carpet. They organised and delivered new furniture for Carol’s bedroom as hers was ‘falling apart’. They even got outside and renovated her neglected garden, removing an old shed and opening up patio space for Carol and her family to enjoy. Regarding the volunteers, Carol’s says:
Carol has since received an ‘affordable haircut’ organised by the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation and does her shopping with them in their Community Larder. She also attends the weekly Monday Club, which she is a proud member of!
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The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation
67 Grove Rd
Northampton
NN1 3LJ
Registered Charity Number: 1190255
