Meet the team
A small team that dreams big!
A huge ‘hello’ from the team at A Good Thing
Cathy Benwell - Co-Founder
Hello! I’m Cathy.
I co-founded A Good Thing with my husband Richard in 2020, and am loving watching it grow and thrive.
The idea for A Good Thing had been in our minds for a long time, but the concept really came into focus when Richard set up a software start-up and I started doing lots of work with a brilliant charity called Home-Start. We suddenly saw what great things can be achieved when a business gives things away to a local charity in need.
I’ve always been a bit of an eco nut. I was that person setting up recycling bins in office kitchens and washing up plastic cups for reuse, at a time when most people didn’t care less. Years before it was cool, I was bringing my own bag when going shopping – and getting some very disparaging looks as a result!
I hate waste of any sort. A Good Thing is such a simple but effective concept, and I love how easy it is to explain it to people. It’s been so exciting to make our idea come to life, and most of all I love the people I’m meeting as a result.
I speak French and Spanish, and in my spare time I love reading, skiing and family bike rides. Not necessarily at the same time! I am also a keen runner.
Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about A Good Thing or get involved with what we’re doing. I’d love to hear from you!
Jane Street - Business Relationships Lead
Hi! I’m Jane.
I joined the team in 2020 as Business Relationships Lead.
Having worked for a large multinational for 10 years, then run my own small creative online retail business, I have seen at first hand the surplus items that a business can accumulate. Work is always busy: it can be hard to carve out the time to go searching for an organisation that could use unwanted items. I love how easy A Good Thing makes it for a business to quickly list something it has to spare, and how easy it is to find a match with a local charity that needs the item.
At A Good Thing, I connect with businesses that could find the platform helpful. If you’re a business with something to spare, I’m on hand to help guide you through the process – please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Richard Benwell - Co-Founder
Hi, I’m Richard.
I co-founded A Good Thing with my wife Cathy. I love using technology to solve problems and I head up the technical side of A Good Thing. I’m also passionate about designing products that are simple and easy to use, and that is central to our aim with A Good Thing.
My background is in technology and entrepreneurship. Ten years ago I started a software business called SquaredUp which today serves enterprise customers worldwide. It was important to me to grow a business that didn’t just prioritise products and profits, but also people and planet, and that includes making a positive impact on the communities we work in. Donating leftover IT equipment directly to local charities was an initiative that was successful at SquaredUp, and with A Good Thing we hope to scale that to all businesses who want to do more for their local communities and help reduce waste.
We’re hoping there are no limits to how far we can go with A Good Thing, and we’re building a modern software platform to help us get there. If you’d like to get involved or learn more about how we’re doing that, I’d love to hear from you.
Anna Rose Bowler - Marketing & Communications Lead
Hello! I’m Anna.
I joined the team in April 2022 as a Digital Marketing Specialist. I’m so excited to be part of A Good Thing and can’t wait to connect with you – both online and offline.
When I first heard about A Good Thing, I knew I wanted to be part of the team. I have worked with a range of third-sector organisations and have sat on a board of trustees. I understand the need to receive gifts of tangible items alongside grants, monetary donations and regular income generation. Being able to access items to sustain the daily actions of a charitable organisation means that other forms of income can be focused on the benefactors – and can ultimately have a greater impact.
Being a geographer at heart, I’m keen to ensure that we preserve the future of our planet. Stopping items from going to landfill is a small step that each individual business can take to play a part, and that’s why I love A Good Thing – the tech in the app makes it super simple to list an item rather than take it to the dump.
I’m a keen learner and an Associated Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. In my free time I power-lift and horse-ride, a rather peculiar combination!
I look forward to welcoming you to the A Good Thing network. Do reach out if there is anything you’d like me to share via our social channels.
Eco Champion Volunteers
Help us to grow A Good Thing in your local area! Come on board as a local eco champion. Help us to get more businesses and charities to sign up to send less to landfill and more to a good cause. A Good Thing is rolling out across the UK and is in need of local eco champions to help it to grow. You'll be using your connections (friends, family, colleagues, neighbours...), as well as your insights into the local area, to help us to build the numbers of businesses and charities signing up in your part of the UK. You might do this through door-knocking (popping into shops and local businesses in person) or through brilliant online networking (using social media platforms, for example).
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