Hi, I’m Kate, and I have a question for you.

How many times have you witnessed someone you love experience something tough (even when the reason is good) and found yourself saying, “I wish I knew how to help?” 

For me, it’s too many. And every time it happens, I feel a little more deflated, and a little less of a “good” friend. 

It began when a close friend of mine was living in a different city and experiencing total exhaustion and overwhelm.  If I’d lived closer, I ‘d have scheduled playdates with her kids so she could have an hour or two to herself.  I would have cooked, cleaned or made sure she could prioritise some self care - anything to take a few things off her to-do list and bring her back to feeling more like herself.  

But I didn’t, and I couldn't find anything online that would actually HELP her through this period. Nothing that would have shown her that I saw her,  or provide the help I knew she so badly needed. 

The gifting industry (the obvious go-to) caters to every milestone under the sun. But what about the moments in between, when life really happens, when flowers or the typical “stuff” just adds to the mental load? We live in a time when we can access anything, but not, it seems, the things we truly need. 

So where do you go when what you need to gift is support, not stuff?

What does ‘help’ or “support” even look like?

And, perhaps more pressingly, why is it so hard to ask for it or even talk about it?

This is what I intend to uncover as I journey in pursuit of what I’m coining “The Art of Showing Up”, or to put it differently, how to ensure that our inner circles, aka the people we love the most, are NEVER doing it alone. 

I’ll be exploring when the ‘village’ became bad for business. Why the gifting industry is booming yet overwhelm, loneliness and isolation is at an all-time high and boldly asking where it all went so wrong.  

My findings, shaped through four key pillars; How to Show Up, When to Show Up, What to Show up with, and how to Ask For Help, powered by lived experiences (not those dictated by the industry - you won’t find a Christmas gift guide here…) will shape what I hope to be the solution to that first question; where do you go when what you need to gift is support.

The answer? I’m building it. 

We Are The Helpful, is a gifting marketplace offering help, not just stuff. It’s gifting, reimagined.  It's for the inner circle, not the masses. And it’s curated by your experiences, of what actually helped you and made you feel less alone and more supported, so we can more easily gift it to others.

As for the rest? I’m well on my way. I’ve already spoken to hundreds of women, just like you, who’ve generously shared their experiences of what helped, or would have, when life happened. 

If you have a story to tell (don’t we all?) then I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a note at the link below and let’s shape what the future of showing up for the ones we love looks like, together.

Love, 

Kate 

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