When we first came up with the idea for Capsule Good B*tch awards, we knew we wanted it to be a celebration – and we had no idea how big that celebration would be. We have been overwhelmed by the response – thank you SO much for supporting us in this – and we already have big plans for expanding the next year. The talent, kindness and vulnerability shown by our GB nominees has always inspired us and we feel so privileged that we were able to share their stories and mahi on Capsule. As you can imagine, judging was tough and between the Capsule and Shark Beauty judging panels, we were able to narrow down this wonderful field to highlight the winners for each category.
Introducing our Good B*tch Community Champion Winner: all-round wonder woman and Kindness Collective founder, Sarah Page
When Sarah Page was a new mother, navigating the health system with her young autistic son, she discovered first-hand how fragmented, frustrating and full-time it was to find any answers or help. So, she decided to do something about it, creating Kindness Collective as a go-between resource for those who needed help and those who could provide it. One pandemic, one cost-of-living crisis, multiple weather events and various other disasters later, The Kindness Collective is bringing much needed help, community and happiness to Kiwis in need.
The Capsule team says: “Sarah understands the power of community and just how much need there is out there for the basics: food, clothing and general support for families living in hardship or for those suddenly affected by disaster. But she also understands the importance of providing joy in a world that is relentlessly hard for a lot of people – and her Christmas Joy Store exemplifies that, providing a Christmas for families who otherwise wouldn’t be getting one. Sarah’s work is the living embodiment of the saying: be the change you want to see in the world.”
Shark Beauty adds: “Shark Beauty applauds Sarah Page for transforming personal challenges into a force for collective good, mirroring our values of inclusiveness and innovation. Sarah’s Kindness Collective serves as a resource for those in need, showcasing the power of community and compassion, and reflecting Shark Beauty’s commitment to making a positive impact.” – Arneka Grosvenor, Marketing and Communications Director, Shark Beauty
We spoke to Sarah about the Good B*tches who make her job possible, and how we can all help our communities this Christmas.
How does it feel to be a Good B*tch?
I’m absolutely thrilled! Look, I didn’t get into this job to win awards [laughs] but I am always grateful however for the opportunity to share what we do, because then more people hopefully want to help!
It’s especially cool to be alongside the women in these categories – what a bunch of good bitches! Like, I am the biggest fan girl of Emily Writes – she’s relentlessly standing up for what’s right, from Gaza to disability advocacy, and she didn’t have to. She could have just been a writer and made some money, but instead she’s making a serious dent in the inequities of the world. People like that I’m in awe of, so it’s really cool to be included in a group like that.
Well, we are thrilled to have you. Your work with the Kindness Collective is so important and, unfortunately, is becoming more and more necessary every year.
The support Capsule has given us over the last few years has been outstanding – it’s very difficult, as a charity to maintain support year on year, because when you start off, people are like ‘I want to help!’ And then over the years they realise the problem of poverty is so big and it definitely slows. So, to be able to have this kind of support is massive.
What has starting the Kindness Collective taught you about what community means in this day and age?
Starting the Kindness Collective obviously changed my career, but it’s also changed how I see the world and everything within it. From the people walking in our door receiving the support, to the people out there giving – it’s made me realise that we are all walking around the planet with all our years of experience, trauma and pain and some of us have the resources that mean we can navigate that easier than others. It’s definitely taught me that community is everything, and without one, we’re less connected and less whole as humans.
And how does that feel now, as we head into what is going to be a very hard Christmas for a lot of people – again?
God, it’s never ending, eh. I recall three years ago saying “this is the hardest year ever for families in need”, and then again in 2022, and then again last year. And now, actually, this is the hardest year ever for families in need.
One thing that we can ask people this Christmas, when they think about community, is just to think about other people and how they’re doing. Yes, we need your money, we need your money so badly. We need your toys, we need your food, we need all these things to help people get through the worst weeks, months and years of their lives.
But more than anything, we need you to stop and think about what life might be like for the people in your community who won’t have the same Christmas as you, or even be able to put food on the table.
Think about what life might be like for the families who are referred to us for our Christmas Joy Store, who are so grateful to shop, because they’d already told their kids there was no Christmas this year. Or the little boy who said to the social worker last week, ‘Christmas is just another day for us.’
Who are the Good B*tches you have in your support network?
I’m grateful to have a lot of wonderful women in my community, like Angela and Theresa Gattung who support me to do my job full time. Also Ellie Roberts, she’s my right-hand gal – like Batman and Robin, but the female version, with less crime and tights. And my board chair, Melody Mobsby, is incredibly supportive. These women are my good bitches – I mean, there are a thousand good bitches in our community, but these women enable me to do my job every day.
The Good B*tch Pillars: Community, Purpose, Joy, Leadership and Success:
What’s the best way we can all help our COMMUNITY?
It doesn’t have to be all consuming, you don’t have to quit your career and start a charity. I reckon just do one little thing for someone else in your community each day, be it a neighbour, or a person in the supermarket, or a friend, or someone referred to a food bank.
Keep in mind all the different people in your community who have different experiences to you and remember just because you’re doing OK, doesn’t mean everyone is, so show up for those who aren’t.
How do you maintain a sense of PURPOSE when there is so much need?
I can’t unsee poverty now and it can be so overwhelming sometimes, because even if I work really hard, all day, every day, we’ll never fix what’s fundamentally broken.
I just get up every day and try and focus on what’s on that day, and then the next and the next and remind myself of the good we do, like when a mum gives me a massive hug in the Joy Store, or when a dad tells our team he can finally give his kids the Christmas they deserve. Or when a woman, who was so badly beaten after abuse, emails me to say the hug I gave her made her feel safe.
That’s my purpose, and how I keep going, but I also like to hibernate on the weekends and lie on my couch, doom scrolling videos of Maine Coons on Tiktok.
What’s a recent moment that has brought you JOY?
When I started the Kindness Collective, that feeling of being able to help someone else was what brought me joy and now I get to do that on a bigger scale, every day, so am lucky to have a lot of joy in my work life.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed – the world is burning, right? But there is also so much good out there. There is so much joy, there is so much kindness. And in this job, you get to see the number of people who genuinely want to help, and who are getting increasingly angry at the inequities of the country we live in, and who are wanting to make a change.
And with the Christmas Joy Store, we are getting to provide a Christmas for kids who otherwise would have gone without. The best part is, their parents are the heroes, and they have NO IDEA a charity was involved. What could be more joyful than that?!
What do you think is a good quality in a life LEADER?
Telling the people in your team and community how great they are. We should tell people more often that they’re doing a good job, they’re appreciated, valued, seen and that we love them, while they’re alive.
When someone dies, there is a massive outpouring of support and love and beautiful words, and it’s crickets for many people whilst they’re alive. So, we need to tell people more, every day, that we love them, that they mean something to us, and that their work matters.
When I got the message about the Good B*tch nomination, I got quite teary because it’s like you’re in the trenches every day, for most women, right? Whether you’re running a charity whilst being a busy mum, juggling all the balls, whatever it is you’re doing, it’s just head down, trying to get through life.
When you know that someone out there thinks you’re doing a good job, or that you’re special enough to think about, or that they make your life easier or more fun, you can keep going another day. Tell your people they’re great more often.
How do you celebrate SUCCESS?
We do “Wins for the week” every week in our weekly WIP! It’s naff and corporate and I love it. Forces the team to think about all their little (or big) successes and things they’ve smashed.
This year, our team is also having a Christmas party – I decided a couple of months ago that we would have an early Christmas party, where everyone could get together and celebrate what we’ve achieved this year: our team, our board and our regular volunteers.
Because we just go, go, go, all year round, and at Christmas we work like a trillion days in a row, without a breather, providing Christmas to 4,200 families. We’re shattered at the end of it, so this year we’re having a quiz night to celebrate our year and team, and I’m winning because I’m not competitive, at all.
Who are three good b*tches who you would like to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on?
Kerryn Thrupp, founder and CEO of Woven Earth: Kerryn takes women and children who have left violent homes with nothing but the shirts on their backs, and she creates an entire home for them through donated goods. Her work is quite literally life-changing and she doesn’t get enough of a spotlight on her amazing work.
Sarah Clare Brown, Co-founder, She is Not your Rehab: literally changing the face of family violence in Aotearoa and around the world. I look up to her so much, she’s my favourite person to follow on social media and I think I’m a little bit annoying because I like/love/comment on her every Instagram story but she is always pleasant back. Also a GB because she champions, supports and celebrates other women doing GB things.
Cecilia Robinson – creates, builds and runs impactful businesses that help women with their busy lives and then impact society for the greater good. PLUS is incredibly generous with her businesses, time, networks and uses her platform for good. She inspires me so much!
The Capsule Good B*tch Awards has been powered by the absolute good bitches at Shark Beauty. We are incredibly lucky at Capsule to have such an incredible partner who supports our mahi, understands our vision and enables us to tell the stories we think truly matter to New Zealand women, and we thank you immensely!