Elaine Rossall MBE

I started working for Home-Start Newark as a home visiting and group volunteer in 1991 and in 1993 I moved into a part time position to do the Charities finances but continued to volunteer. Two years later I became the Senior Organiser. I have 23 years’ experience working and supporting parents and children in the Newark area also recruiting and training many volunteers who support the scheme. I was delighted to be awarded an MBE in 2010. I am married and have three grown up children and became a grandma in 2013.

Sara Grant

I started at Home-Start in January 2012 as an Organiser, recruiting and training volunteers and working with them to support families. Before this I’ve mostly worked in the voluntary sector, with Women’s Aid in Scotland and with Family First (in their mental health service) and for BEST in Broxtowe, where I’m still a Director. I love working for Home-Start; enabling families to move forward and I am humbled everyday by the generosity and compassion of our wonderful volunteers.

Jacqui Hopewell

I started here in the New Year of 2010 as a part time Administrator. I like working within our small close knit team and liaising with our vast array of volunteers & families. As part of our Business Plan in 2012 we developed our MiMs programme. As this is a subject very close to my heart I became very actively involved & now job share the Admin duties with Kim so that I can run these courses with partnership agencies for mums suffering with PND. This is where my passion lies, I love working closely with these mums & supporting them on their recovery journey. Please take a look at our MiMs page.

Kim Shirley

I started working with Home-Start Newark to cover maternity leave and subsequently found out I was expecting my second child. Having left to be a full time mum I was contacted by Elaine who asked if I would like to come back to help out with the Administration and I have never left. My role has developed into spending part of my week doing admin and the rest writing bids and organising events for fundraising which is very enjoyable but also very challenging especially in these changing times.

Jane Geraghty

I was appointed Chief Officer of Nottinghamshire Probation in April 2005. Prior to this, I held the post of Chief Probation Officer at Humberside from May 2000. Previously, I was Deputy Chief Officer at the West Midlands Probation Service and carried out duties as an Assistant Chief Probation Officer from 1989 to 1998 at the Home Office, the Inner London Probation Service and the South Yorkshire Service. I also worked as a Probation Officer at Middlesex and Nottingham and as a Senior Probation Officer at Lincolnshire. Overall my career in Probation started in 1974 and spans 40 years.

I became a Trustee of Home-Start Newark; I was appointed Chair in October 2011

Penny Holland

I am 68 years old. I have four children and was lucky enough to be able to stay at home with them until the youngest was of school age. I now have six grandchildren and await the birth of a seventh they currently range in age from 18 to two. I try to be a very �hands on� Granny and am involved in regular child care commitments.

I have a first degree in Psychology and a Master�s degree in Developmental Child Psychology. My working life was as an Educational Psychologist working with pupils, parents and schools to enable all children to access the best education possible.

After I retired I missed the contact that I was used to having with both parents and their children and was looking for something that I might do on a voluntary basis. Home-start seemed to be the ideal solution for me and I have worked as a volunteer and a trustee for several years.

Tracey Wyatt

Tracey is a Chartered Accountant with two young children. She has spent the majority of her career either overseas or working on overseas projects and now works part-time locally as a Financial Controller. As a mother of young children she is very happy to be involved in a charity that does such great work in helping local children and their families.

Chris Kent

I spent my working life as a University Lecturer at Nottingham Medical School, retiring from full time work in 2001. I have two children and four grandchildren, ages ranging from toddlers to teenagers. I joined the Home-Start Newark preparation course in January 2005 and was a volunteer for several families until recently. I helped to set up and facilitate the MIMs course for mothers with postnatal depression currently being run by Newark Home-Start. I also work as an associate manager for a local Healthcare Trust taking part in hearings for patients detained under the Mental Health Act. My other interests are Southwell Minster, theatre & film, books, poetry, the countryside, gardening, growing vegetables - please note, these are my interests, I don’t claim to be any good at any of them.

Howard Lockwood

As a young man I worked in industry for 10 years and in my spare time I helped to run Methodist youth clubs. This included being co – leader of a "skinhead youth club" in the late 1960s.

From these experiences I applied to become a probation officer and worked for the next 29 years in the Probation Service as a practitioner and all levels of management. I have my family nearby in Nottingham and four grandchildren that I adore.

I wanted to get involved in a local charity and Home-Start seems to fit my needs. I have a range of skills and I think I have a forte in organising people, committees and events. I am a team player as well as being able to work alone. I have considerable experience in working in partnership with other organisations. The most important thing for me in life is to try to make a difference and offer help where it requested and needed. I think I can do that through Home-Start both as a trustee and a volunteer.

Cynd Willey

For the first 5 years of my teaching career I worked with children between 5 and 11 and took a short career break when my son was born. At 3 he went to nursery school and I was immediately impressed by the energy and learning children achieved through play in this group situation. I undertook further training and spent the majority of the rest of my career as a nursery teacher and head teacher. In my school, we found we continuously learned from our close relationship with the children’s parents. I retired in 2011, having spent 7 years working as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Northampton, specialising in Child Development. Much of the motivation for retirement stemmed from my wish to spend more time putting theory into practice and enjoy being with my grandchildren. Reading, research and experience has shown me how the role of parent is both the most difficult work but also the most important. All parents need support and I am proud to be given the opportunity to contribute to the valuable work of Home-Start.

Terry O'Dea

I worked in the food industry for over 40 years predominantly in technical roles but for the last 4 years headed up Corporate Social Responsibility which included managing the companies’ charity commitments. When I retired in 2011 I wanted to keep active and felt that volunteering provided a means of fitting this in with my plans for the future. My first experience was as a volunteer at the London Olympics which was amazing and during this period I researched other more local opportunities. To be honest I had not heard of Home-Start but called into the drop on office in Newark and was impressed by the work being done in the community. I signed up for the volunteer’s course which was excellent preparation for the challenges ahead and have found the last couple of years very rewarding. And yes, my volunteer work and subsequent trustee commitments have fitted well into full time retirement.

Helen Sanderson

I attended my very first Trustee meeting in March 2014 so am very new to the organisation. My Mother worked as both an organiser and a volunteer for Home-start when I was growing up so I know of the invaluable support that the organisation provides to families and I was very keen to become involved and offer my support. I have 2 sons the youngest of whom has just started school leaving me with a little spare time to take on a new commitment.

I have worked for an organisation called the Independent Living Fund for 16 years in a number of roles including case-worker, team manager and have been employed in my current role as a policy manager for 10 years. I am keen to utilise the knowledge and skills I have acquired from my paid employment to provide support to Home-start Newark.

Lizzy Doorbar

Two and a half years ago I moved to the area, having taken early retirement from my job as a Deputy Headteacher in a primary school. Fairly soon I learnt about the possibility of volunteering with Home-Start, and I haven’t looked back! I did the Home-Start training course for volunteers (the best course I have ever done!) and since then I have supported three families.

My experience as a Special Needs Co-ordinator in a Primary school has been relevant and useful to my role as a volunteer. More important is my experience as a parent to my two daughters, now grown up and living away. Having seen the value of the contribution Home-Start can make, I was delighted when an opportunity arose for me to become a Trustee, and I hope that I will be able to help this wonderful organisation continue to develop and help more families.

Jo Cartledge

I became aware of the charity Homestart a few years ago through a friend who had supported a number of families, I knew that this was something I was also keen to become involved in.

Having completed the Preparation Course in May 2015, I have supported a number of families and joined as a trustee in January 2017. I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to help develop and promote Home Start in Newark, and look forward to working alongside the Chair and Trustees going forward.

I have 2 young children and know that families face many different challenges, I hope that all of my experience will continue to help this vital local family charity.

Karen Southern

Karen is currently Director of Accounting and Operational Finance with Macmillan and has recently worked with gambling addiction charity Gordon Moody Association. She has 20 years experience in senior finance roles in construction materials companies Tarmac, Hope Construction Materials and Breedon Group Plc. Passionate about supporting others and encouraging business leaders to use their transferable skills to support the charitable sector she joined Homestart Newark as a Trustee and Treasurer in January 2020. Karen is mother to two boys and enjoys walking and running in her spare time.