Who We Are Comfort Cases UK

OUR TEAM

Sonali Kotecha

Sarah Jacoby

Susan O'Sullivan

OPERATIONS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

CEO & FOUNDER

PARTNERSHIPS LEAD

Sonali comes from a background in charity operations and clinical services that has shaped her ability to bring people together, build relationships,and turn ideas into effective meaningful action.

She combines a practical approach with a genuine commitment to people, ensuring that the system, partnerships and day-to-day work behind the scenes supports the charity’s mission.

Passionate about community, collaboration and creating positive change, Sonali is committed to building connections that inspire people to get involved and help ensure that every child has dignity, care and comfort.

#nomorebinbags

Sarah founded Comfort Cases in the UK in 2021, to show every child in care and the adults they become that everyone deserve to feel valued and be treated with compassion and dignity, regardless of their start.

Her background in sales, teaching and community work have shaped her ability to build trust, nurture relationships and bring people together around shared purpose.

Passionate, driven & empathetic, Sarah combines an entrepreneurial approach with a gift for helping people recognise the difference they can make, building partnerships backed by tangible data, that leave people feeling valued and motivated to turn kindness into action.

No child should carry their life in a bin bag.

OUR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

Sarah

Regional Ambassador – Midlands

Volunteer

I am proud to be Comfort Cases UK’s Regional Champion for the Midlands, a role I perform alongside my day job as Head of Human Resources at Auctus Management Group Ltd. I began working with CCUK in 2024 when I proposed that we support the charity through fundraising at work.

CCUK’s commitment to ensuring every child is treated with dignity resonates deeply with me because as an adoptive parent, I understand personally how frightening and uncertain the journey into care can be.

I have now led two packing events at AMG, which have generated over 100 comfort cases for local children in care, supported by Birmingham Children’s Trust. I have organised a charity football match and continue to arrange various fundraising activities as I’m always keen to plan another packing event. Outside of my workplace, I belong to a choir, which also got involved in fundraising for the charity. This resulted in a community packing event, dubbed “The Packathon”, that created 150 Comfort Cases for children, supported by Walsall Council Children’s Services. We even arranged and performed our very own version of Oasis’s Stop Crying Your Heart Out, to raise awareness of our fundraising and why it is so vitally important.

Always keen to collaborate, I love how the combination of my professional life and personal passions enables me to open doors, build lasting relationships and help more local children begin their next chapter knowing they matter.

Amanda

Lead Community Engagement Volunteer

Hi I’m Amanda.

I used to be a palliative care nurse and since retiring early I have been trying to find something to make me feel that I am helping people again.

I started volunteering at Comfort Cases 18 months ago and I feel like I can help make a difference to the lives of children who are at their lowest point.

Volunteering at Comfort Cases feels extremely special as the small act of packing a bag can make a real difference to a child when they might feel scared and overwhelmed. Folding tiny pyjamas, choosing a soft blanket, and adding a soft Barry makes it all feel very real—you realise these aren’t just items, they’re letting a child know that someone cares.

I have recently been made Lead Community Engagement Volunteer which has made me very happy and I would love to talk to anyone in Barnet or Hertfordshire that would like to get involved.

Holly

Regional Ambassador – Stoke

Volunteer

I am a fur mum of a 10year old Border Collie, and of an angel cat – whiskers who we recently lost to sudden illness.

I am a kinship foster carer for my niece who was placed with me at 4 days old with 12 hours notice! Our niece came to us with her leaving hospital outfit and little else. It was a scramble to get everything required for a baby including somewhere to sleep!

I am also an adoptee and was a care experienced baby who left foster care at 1 years old.

I want to be part of comfort cases because I want to change the way that children are sent from placement to placement with their precious belongings in bin bags. The items that they may have from their biological family that keeps them connected to their roots often get lost and it’s simply not good enough!

We must do better for our children in care and those leaving care to forge a life as a young adult.

I would like to achieve change in perception for looked after children and make a difference in how their belongings are packed, kept and transported between placements.

Identity and belonging is huge to children and young adults in care – it takes role models to model how to achieve safe and compassionate changes in placements with dignity when it comes to belongings.