In our first interview, we chat to our good friend Michelle Barnett about her role in setting up and running Gift from her kitchen table in the early years, building it in to a large successful charitable organisation that affects the lives of hundreds of people.     

Some of the topics we cover include:   Her career journey   Her philosophy on giving   Her vision for Gift   How she finds balance   What she does for self-care   

The books mentioned in the interview are:   

Talking to God by Naomi Levy   

To Vanquish the Dragon by Pearl Benisch   

Michelle's favourite quote:   "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away" Pablo Picasso   

Michelle's bread machine challah recipe:   13.5oz water   2 & 1/4oz olive oil   2 & 1/4 t salt   2 & 1/4 t sugar   832g strong flour   1T dried yeast   Put ingredients in bread machine in above order and set to dough setting.  After dough is ready, roll out into challah or rolls and leave to rise for about an hour (can be less if in a hurry).  Brush with egg.  Top with sesame seeds.  Bake in pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for 12-14 mins.   Michelle uses granary flour and adds a handful of sun dried tomatoes and cut up olives.  She also uses slightly more flour than in the recipe. 

You can find out more about Gift at www.jgift.org or email them at [email protected] They can be found on Facebook at GIFT Charity, Instagram @giftcharity and Twitter @GIFTcharity