Basket Brigade UK

Here you’ll find the history of Basket Brigade in London prior to us becoming a Charity.

People often ask how did this all start? Well, it’s a long story, Inspired in the UK, by a story from America. Tony Robbins, who is a prolific author and public speaker, trainer, philanthropist and so much more shared his own story and experience that inspired us all. 

Tony Robbins’s experience at a young age was a catalyst for us. 

Tony’s family receiving a basket when his parents were in difficulty, led to the belief that ‘strangers care’. This impacted his life and millions of others and continues to do so today. To receive a basket of food, with love, at a time when life isn’t your best friend, from complete strangers, is something that is life-changing!

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Way back in the mid-1990s a lady called Liane Pedro, who had attended one of Tony’s programs, joined a community of like-minded people who were also inspired by Tony’s work called the YES Group. Liane wanted to make a difference and encouraged other members of the YES Group to create the very first basket brigade, back in 1995. Since then it has become an annual event, traditionally held on the 23rd of December. Thank you for your vision and leadership, Liane! From a small beginning to where we are today, the first Basket Brigade was organised by a few, for a few, but the spirit was strong, and thanks to Liane’s vision and commitment our event was born to succeed and has grown every year.

There are bound to be names we miss, but in the spirit of selfless and nameless giving, we hope to be forgiven for not mentioning everyone.  We are keen to capture your special stories and moments, aiming to maintain an archive of our roots and historical milestones. We do wish to acknowledge all former leaders and those who played a significant part year after year, the ‘old hands’ who have held the knowledge and the ‘how to’ of the event which has been critical to managing the growth and WOW factor. 

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Let’s remember some old hands..

Here we are remembering some of the key people that Karl Pearsall, founder of YES Group, recalls as those old hands from those earlier years who we always love to see and welcome. 

– The leader, Brigitte Djie, took Basket Brigade and YES Group with her then-husband, Rex Sumner, to new levels. 
– Steve Woody for championing homelessness and leading groups in London giving out food later on the same day! 
– Emma and Andy Cummings for organising the names and addresses for delivery for many years. 
– Harry Singha who in the early days brought a strong voice and leadership that shaped the event, championing the message and value of contribution to a wider audience. 

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For now, no list is complete without the leader Anita Langley, who in 2014, with close friends Mirela Van Eijndhoven and Bianca Madison-Vuleta pulled off the largest Basket Brigade to date at the Harrow leisure centre. Anita’s name was synonymous with BB for many years and her commitment and determination to reach more people was infectious.

Below you’ll find images where we have listed the leaders of each event, in the corresponding years. It was the tradition, each year, that a new person had the opportunity to lead. This was a huge commitment for that person, and if the leader was not the leader of the YES Group, then it was they and Karl Pearsall who coached them, along with the previous year’s leader. There were challenges, but with so much goodwill, year after year, hundreds or even thousands of baskets were delivered!

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The evolution of the event and its growth required better solutions, e.g.  fundraising members jumping out of planes, skydiving, running great distances, and other physical challenges.  An auction was created in the YES Group room for 200 people and the community gave products and services raising 1,000’s of pounds. This later became the digital auction that everyone can be part of today. If you have something, or know someone, who has a premium service or gift that they’d like to contribute please click here.  

People got thirsty and hungry, so a cafe was created, which the Shah family (Umesh and Reshma) built up over the years, contributing 1,000’s of pounds, with 100 percent of the profits going to making baskets. 

At this point Karl felt, “it’s time for me to let the next generation take BB forward. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to contribute in this way, to be part of the history and legacy of such an impactful event that transforms the lives of the givers and recipients of the baskets in such a profound way.” This transformation and togetherness has been the motivation that has inspred hundreds of us to develop  Basket Brigade and we’d like to take a moment, on this page, to share with you as many of those beautiful souls as we can. 

Karl, our “overseeing eye” for so many years, took a moment for a shout out for Giles Button. Giles has led Basket Brigade for the last few years, and as Karl gradually stepped back, Giles’ deserves full credit for his commitment and for leading the charge in getting us over the line to become a registered charity, and for that, he is a legend!

In closing, THANK YOU to Tony Robbins, Liane Pedro, Karl Pearsall, and all the leaders and team members who have served within Basket Brigade UK. Together we made, and continue to make, a difference and champion ‘contribution’. Onwards we go, with new energy, and a clear mandate empowered with our new Charity status.

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If reading any of this history has inspired you to be part of Basket Brigade UK, please reach out today and join us, and be part in making a real difference! Perhaps you would like to help organise the event this year, if so visit our Leadership Team page. To support the event and help us feed more families this year, please visit our donation page. Or if you’d simple like to volunteer on the 23rd keep an eye on our Facebook page / Facebook group for when registrations open for this years event.