Oxfordshire based charity Restore featured in an episode of The Secret Millionaire, Channel 4’s award winning documentary, on Monday 28th May, 9pm.
Listen to Anna from Restore talking about the programme and her own experiences on BBC Oxford radio. (It starts 8 minutes into the programme.)
Undercover millionaire Arfan Razak – or Raz as he likes to be called – made his fortune through his successful restaurant and growing property portfolio and was in Oxford to find charities that needed help. As Raz’s mother has suffered from depression he was drawn to Restore and the important work we do for people with mental health issues.
Raz posed as a taxi driver and amateur chef getting work experience in order to become professional and volunteered at Restore’s Garden Café, which sells local, fair-trade food, before revealing his true identity and a cheque.
Raz says, ‘We go through life with its ups and downs. Sometimes we need help and support but we don’t always get it. What I found at Restore was an oasis in a busy area, just giving people at the lowest ebb in life a helping hand, a smile and encouragement that life will get better, slowly. I wish they had been in Nottingham to help me and my Mum. That why I am so honoured to be able to help Restore!”
Anna Cautley, staff member at Restore, showed Raz around and talked to him about her own experiences. She says, ‘Raz was really interested in what we do at Restore and willing to muck in. We were so surprised to find out who he really is! Mental health is not usually a popular cause so all of us at Restore really appreciate his support.’
Watch The Secret Millionaire originally shown on Channel 4 on Monday 28th May, 9pm.