Edwina Grosvenor

EDWINA GROSVENOR, Founder of One Small thing. 

“One Small Thing exists because there is a problem that needs fixing and I think I can fix it. Twenty years of hard graft working in prisons and a never abating feeling of rage at our current system is what has brought me here today. 

Here’s a potted history of my career path: prisons, prisons, prisons, prisons. 

There is so much enthusiasm and appetite from people to adopt a new way of working with traumatised people. By doing small things every day, prison staff feel a sense that they can achieve change in people’s lives. It’s very empowering. What I find so exciting is that it feels like it’s becoming a movement. 

The biggest challenge with the work we are doing is meeting the demand for our training. This is a positive challenge as it means we are already making a positive difference. There is no down time. When I’m not doing this, I’m thinking about it. It’s hugely rewarding. 

Here is my motto for life: Your comfort zone is a lovely place, but nothing ever grows there. 

Everybody needs someone to look up to. Mine is my mother because I now know how hard it is to be one. By that I mean being a fully present mother, even when you spread yourself so thin that on days you feel like there is almost nothing left. To keep those plates spinning, to create safe foundations as my mother did for me even in times of serious ill health and other challenges that faced us as a family is just monumental. She is my true super hero. 

Follow Edwina on twitter: @prisonphilanthropist

Photograph by Roo Kendall