Marks' story
On 7 September 2026, Mark Smith begins his 45th year in business. Rather than simply marking the occasion, he has decided to turn this personal milestone into a year-long fundraising challenge for the Memusi Foundation, which supports children, schools and communities in Magadi, Kenya.
The ambition is simple: raise £45,000 and collect 45,000 pencils and other stationery items to support the Foundation's work.
Project 45 will bring together businesses, schools, colleges, universities and the wider community through a year of events, challenges and fundraising.
Come and be part of the journey.
What can £45,000 achieve?
Memusi Foundaion can build a classroom for £7,500, which will give 30 children access to an education.
But a classroom is about much more than bricks and mortar.
Through the work of the Memusi Foundation, education can mean a guaranteed meal for a child who might otherwise go hungry. Clean, fresh water in a community where families may walk miles to collect it. Healthcare and sanitary products that help children, particularly girls, stay in school. Support for families to develop sustainable livelihoods. We pay for their class teacher, and all the books, pencils and other resources needed to make good education possible every day.
The real impact comes from bringing all these things together – walking alongside an engaged community and supporting children throughout their education.
