Julie Budge – Founder Director / Company Secretary

 

A Full Member of the Institute of Fundraisers, and recently finalist at Third Sector Awards (2013) under the Best Fundraising Team category, Julie’s skills, experience and qualifications have been centered in the Community Voluntary Sector for more than 20 years.

 

Julie has considerable strategic and operational management experience, skills & qualifications. In 1991 she set up and managed a Victim Support Scheme, working closely with victims of serious crime. She then took a senior management CEO position within Citizens Advice (3 bureaux / 45 paid staff / 100 volunteers, 40,000 enquiries per year).

 

As a self sufficient and self motivated individual she has successfully earned a good freelance income from training & consultancy, teaching and supporting other organisations in funding bids, strategic and business planning. She was appointed in May 2011 to set up the Voluntary Action Arun & Chichester Fundraising Hub where she coached, supported and supervised 15 volunteers to write funding applications, as well as writing many herself for various voluntary organisations in and around Arun & Chichester areas. The Fundraising Hub has raised £1,110.560 since it began in May 2011, of which Julie’s personal bid writing has raised £789,966.  The project is so successful it is now being franchised. She has now returned to freelance status to enable her to pursue My Sisters’ House. Julie is also a School Governor and Girlguiding Unit Leader within the local community.

                                  

 

 

Sylvie Collier – Chair

 

Sylvie Collier is a professional producer-director of documentary films for national television and an activist for women’s rights, world peace and a healthy environment. She has travelled extensively, lived in London and New York and now is based in a semi-rural village where she served for several years as an elected Parish Councillor. Sylvie makes original films and documentaries for television networks and community interests. Her most recent 60-minute film was shown in cinemas and recently on Sky Arts television; several previous films are available in county libraries.

 

Her roles include direction and production of documentaries, development of business ideas, fundraising for new projects, and formation of innovative partnerships to create new work. Her voluntary work has included raising some £10,000 for Chichester Food Bank.

 

 

 

Gail Austin-Hogg – Treasurer

 

Gail a qualified accountant has  8 years experience running her husband’s building business, her own franchise and recently managing the accounting and organisational functions of a small Community Interest Company (CIC) – Unity Arts Trust .  She has also spent 5 years working in medium sized Accounting Practices and more than 3 years as an Internal Audit Project Manager reviewing and advising on risks and system controls.

 

She is an active member of the local community, being the Treasurer for the local Community Centre over the last 3 years (her term as treasurer ends  July 2014)  and a member of both the ‘Friends of St Margaret’s’ School Committee and the ‘William Older’ Playgroup Committee.  I am an enthusiastic and hard working person, who is passionate about the work I do.

 

 

 

Joanne Webb – Director

 

Joanne (Julie’s Sister) has worked within the Business, Voluntary, Education and Arts sector in various job roles for over 20 years as well as maintaining and continuing her own professional development as a visual artist. She is an artist and designer working from her art studio in Chichester, West Sussex. She is a Royal Academy classically trained painter. Alongside her traditional practice is a growing development of work on new surfaces. This has led her to explore the British textile industry, digital and ceramic manufacturing, silk screening and other methods in order to create fabric, furnishings, ceramics and wallpaper in conjunction with paintings. Recently she has designed a bespoke mug bearing the My Sisters’ House logo, which is being showcased to retail store in the UK with a portion of profit being donated to My Sisters’ House. This we hope will be the first of many products designed within the centre that will benefit the project. Joanne has been a Director since 2007 for Unity Arts and is presently a Partner in Art with the Pallant House Gallery.

 

 

 

Annabell Alexander – Director

 

Founder of The Goddess Foundation, Annabell is working to create social change through female empowerment. She facilitates female empowerment workshops. She has been Secretary / Co-ordinator of the Sussex International Women’s Day for the last seven years. Both of these projects we hope will be able to have a base at the My Sisters’ House in the future. Recently she also became a Restorative Justice facilitator with Arun District Council. Annabell believes stronger women as mothers, workers and campaigners will make for a more balanced compassionate and just society.

 

 

 

Kez Bridger – Director

 

Kez has worked for many years as a volunteer Community Leader at Grass Roots level. She is well known and respected for helping run major events which are held for the wider community. She has considerable experience of planning and facilitating events to raise community funding. Her skills are very much in the community engagement field - improving community cohesion by encouraging people to participate in local events. She is well known and valued by Arun District Council and Bognor Community Action Network. Kez trained as Parent Support Worker, Community Leader, Fundraiser, Food Safety and Cook & Eat Facilitator and is a member of the Foster Care Panel.  Using those skills she has worked with hundreds of young people, families and older people. In May 5th 2014 she set up an unincorporated Voluntary Group called Bognorphenia, (having project managed this event this year with great success) and it will now be an annual event, raising funds for other local community groups and charities. Kez has clear insight into the needs of the deprived areas of Bognor Regis. She was in foster care when young, homeless as a Teenager and a single mother; she can empathise with those who have little or no family support and find themselves isolated.

 

 

 

Birdy Davenport – Director

 

Birdy has also worked for many years as a volunteer Community Leader at Grass Roots level as well as having paid roles facilitating community courses such as Cook & Ea t/ Art workshops. Birdy trained as Trainer (PTTLS) Parent Support Worker, Community Leader, Food Safety, Freedom Program and Cook & Eat Facilitator. Other courses include Basic Counselling, Basic NLP and Assertiveness; she is also familiar with various forms of assessment in training and for outcome monitoring purposes. A good team player Birdy has assisted in some major community events and is well known and respected in the community. With a good grounding in working with disadvantaged people, she has a strong sense of equality and diversity with a warm, sensitive and empathetic character. Birdy has personal experience of being isolated, being a carer for terminally ill Mother at aged 7, being abandoned, suffering loss & depression, vulnerable and homeless. Her strength of character as a single Mother has given her a deep routed understanding and empathy of the needs of those disengaged / disadvantaged.

 

 

 

Jenny Brown – Director

 

Jenny is presently employed in various capacities within Voluntary Action Arun & Chichester (VAAC) as Fundraising Hub Peer Mentor & Volunteer Officer for Volunteer Now and Fundraising and Development Assistant with Coastal West Sussex Mind. With a sound background in the volunteering world, on a day to day basis she coordinates and matches volunteers from across the Arun & Chichester districts with suitable volunteering opportunities. Jenny attends road shows and events to help market the service and gives outreach presentations within the community to promote volunteering. Recently she created, marketed and now facilitates regular Introduction to volunteering sessions. She works closely with organisations to support them with volunteering advice. She also coordinates a successful website and social media presence as well as regular newspaper articles and press releases. Within Mind, Jenny has undertaken research, consultation, evaluation and the reviewing of policies and procedures of fundraising and volunteering within the organisation.