One misty morning in Manchester, my dad was driving to work when he stopped at a petrol station to fill up. There, he spotted a pregnant girljust nineteenholding a handwritten sign and asking for help. She looked exhausted, her eyes pleading. Dad gave her an apologetic shrug and muttered, “Sorry, love, no spare change today,” before climbing back into his car.
But then, just as he was about to pull away, something tugged at him. He rolled down the window and called out, “Howd you end up like this, then?” The girl, named Emily, explained shed had a massive row with her parents after falling pregnant out of wedlock. Theyd kicked her out, and now she was stuckno job, no savings, nothing. Dad raised an eyebrow. “No government support? No mates to crash with?” She shook her head. After a long pause, he sighed, fished out his business card, and said, “Ring me tomorrow. Lets see what we can sort.”
True to his word, when Emily called, he arranged a meeting at his office in Leeds. A quick interview later, and bamshe was hired. At first, it was just answering phones and fetching tea, but fast-forward a few years, and shes one of the deputy directors! Now, shes got her own little family, a cosy home, and last we heard, shed even adopted a scruffy terrier named Winston. Not bad for a girl who started with nothing but a cardboard sign and a bit of hope, eh?
