No others: Jez Smith on Quaker Voluntary Action’s AGM

‘We often learn the most from those who have the least.’

by Jez Smith 2nd October 2026

The question was very simple: ‘Do you take sugar?’ When Jennifer Kavanagh first began volunteering on tea runs in London, she knew very little about homelessness. But stepping up to a doorway and offering a hot cup of tea changed everything. In that quiet moment, a human relationship began. Looking at the person sitting on the pavement, she had a clear, sudden realisation: that could be me. There is no such thing as the other.