Channel 4’s acclaimed series The Secret Millionaire recently featured Thames Reach. The show aired on 2nd September at 9pm on Channel 4.
In the programme, 26-year-old millionaire Daniel Smith met Thames Reach staff and people who use the charity’s services. Daniel visited Thames Reach projects including the organic farm project, a link-up between Thames Reach and the Boathouse Organic Farm in Sussex, which provides the opportunity for participants to travel out to the countryside, escape the hustle and bustle of London, plant seeds and harvest their own crops.
He also went out for a night with the London Street Rescue service, who every night of the year are out and about across the capital working to get rough sleepers off the street and into accommodation.
Daniel had never given to charity. Up until now only work and making money have mattered to him. He left school at 15 to join his Dad's struggling small furniture company and has since turned it into a thriving business, making his first million when he was just 22.
Last year Daniel hit a 'brick wall' with stress and exhaustion, and had to take six weeks off to recover. Keen to reassess his own lifestyle and do something useful, Daniel decided to go undercover to help homeless people in central London, Britain's homeless capital.
During the episode, Daniel visited a number of homeless projects in an attempt to understand what life is like for people who sleep rough in the capital and what organisations such as Thames Reach are doing to help people off the street.
Daniel ultimately feels most passionately about the work the farm project are doing and decided to donate the fantastic sum of £15,000 towards supporting the project.
If you want to help support Thames Reach services such as the organic farm project, helping former homeless people back into work please click here
