Campaigner

Volunteer

Motivational speaker

I am Sarah Elizabeth Hope. I was born in Market Drayton in Shropshire in 1972.

I am married to Christopher and we have three children: Barnaby, Sapphire and Pollyanna. We also have a terrier called Queenie.

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MBE for services to child amputees and road crash victims

2022

Winner, ITV Pride of Britain Award

2017

Winner, Parent in a Million, Herts Advertiser Community Awards

2016

Fundraiser of the Year, Limbless Association

2011

People's Choice Award, JustGiving

2010

What I can I do for you

  • Speak to your team about overcoming huge adversity
  • Speak to your team about finding the good in tragedy
  • Offer an understanding of how policies can affect victims of transport collisions
  • Offer inspiration and hope to others about how to overcome life’s challenges

Experience

I have learnt a lot about the justice system having had to pursue a personal injury claim for both myself and my daughter. The case took over five years and it was humiliating, depressing, intense and at times I felt exploited.

There are many changes that I would like to make, this has led to me campaigning for better justice for road crash victims. 

  • I enjoy campaigning and fighting to make things right for people when clearly, they are wrong, unfair and unjust
  • I enjoy talking to people and trying to persuade them of my argument
  • I am very happy to talk to all sorts of people from all backgrounds, politicians included!
  • I am not only passionate about helping people after a terrible incident, but I do believe prevention is even better, so I work hard with TfL to try and achieve Vision Zero
  • I have made great contacts over the past ten years of campaigning
  • I like to listen to people, and I do respect their opinions
  • I don’t like to give up if I consider something important
 

I have also had quite a lot of media experience through my campaigning with TfL and especially with my campaign for running blades. This experience has been largely for different news channels and I have made films for TfL to promote the Sarah Hope Line.

My story

I have spent the past 15 years campaigning for amputees and victims of road crashes.

1999
1999
I started with my own company called Food4Fun which helped to teach children from the age of two and a half about how to cook and eat healthily.
1999
2007
2007
In April 2007 my world collapsed when a London bus mounted the pavement and struck me, our daughter Pollyanna and my mother Elizabeth. Pollyanna – then aged two years old – lost her leg below the knee; I had a severe degloving of my leg and my mother Elizabeth was killed. It took years to get over this shock and perhaps I never will get over it, but it made me realise that I wanted to do more to help others.
2007
2011
2011
In 2011, with my twin sister Victoria, we set up Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope as a legacy to our mother Elizabeth. It is a charity that helps amputee children in the developing world. Since then it has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for hundreds of amputees in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Tanzania and India. This is my mother's legacy, she was always helping other people.
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2011
2016
2016
Also in 2016, Transport for London set up the Sarah Hope Line, a manned call centre line which offers support and advice to anyone injured and bereaved families hurt or killed on London’s transport network. We have helped over 500 families since 2016.
2016
2016
2016
In 2016 I successfully campaigned for George Osborne, the Chancellor, to set aside £1.5million to pay for activity blades for amputee children in the UK. We were inspired after watching the Paralympics in 2012 which taught us all about running blades. I asked the NHS if Pollyanna could have a running blade so she could run and jump and play with her friends, but the NHS said they were too expensive and said she did not need one. We were very upset and I began a campaign to make these blades more available to amputee children in the UK. Now all child amputees in the UK use activity blades all of the time and their lives have been transformed.
2016
2021
2021
Since January 2021, I have been a volunteer at the vaccination centre in Harpenden and at the Harpenden food bank with the Salvation Army.
2021

My Family

The Hopes have been through a lot – but we always remember to have fun!

I have been married to Christopher who is Assistant Editor for Politics at the Daily Telegraph since September 1997, and it is never a dull moment!

We have three children: Barnaby, Sapphire and Pollyanna.

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My CV

Road Safety Consultant, Transport for London
(2016 – Present)
In 2016, I set up the Sarah Hope line after campaigning with Transport for London to give more support to road crash victims and their families. Now we also help all victims and their families of incidents on the London transport network.

Volunteer, Harpenden Foodbank
(2020 – Present)
I work with the team at the foodbank in Harpenden, supporting families in Harpenden and other parts of Hertfordshire.

Volunteer, Harpenden Covid-19 Vaccination Centre
(2021 – 2022)
I worked with the team at the NHS vaccination centre in Harpenden, helping to support the deployment of 90,000 jabs in the arms of 25,000 people in just 12 months.

Founder and trustee, Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope
(2011 – 2021)
I set up Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope with my twin sister Victoria to raise money to help provide prosthetic limbs and support for child amputees in India and Africa. My family and I were very grateful for Pollyanna’s care and the idea that thousands of amputee children in the developing world would not have access to prosthetic support felt unacceptable.

Founder and director, Food4fun
(2000 – 2004)
I set up and ran a small company (from my kitchen) called Food4fun which helped to teach toddlers aged two years to five years how to make and enjoy healthy food. I eventually worked in nursery schools and with reception children.

Get in touch

I would love to hear from you!