Kathryn - Project Manager
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Kathryn has been employed by the project since 2017, initially as a project facilitator, but had been volunteering her time with them for over a decade previously.
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Kathryn has a BSc in psychology and an MSc in clinical neuropsychiatry as well as training in animal assisted therapy and breastfeeding support.
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Most of Kathryn’s spare time involves looking after her young children, but when she finds a few quiet minutes, they are used for playing a range of musical instruments or looking after her weird and wonderful animals.
Michelle - Project Manager
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Michelle has been with the project for over 20 years.
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Michelle originally qualified within the childcare sector before moving on to social policy. Further qualifications in areas including mental health, domestic abuse and safeguarding combine with her strong belief in a holistic approach to supporting people when working with children and their families.
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Outside of work Michelle enjoys reading and spending time relaxing with her wide range of exotic pets. She also spends lots of time with her grandchildren, going out for walks together.
Jessica - Project Facilitator
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Jessica initially joined the project as a parent six years ago. Since then she has been a committee member, a trustee, a fundraiser and a volunteer.
Since 2021 she has been employed by the project utilising her knowledge of the project and community. She is currently also pursuing training in children's and adult mental health to further support our service users.
Kelly - Play Focus
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Kelly initially joined the project several years ago as a parent in which time she has been both a committee member and a trustee. Her knowledge of and belief in our project and its ethos shines through when she is in the groups.
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Kelly has training in EYFS as well as experience working with vulnerable members of the community and brings her knowledge and empathy with her as a member of the team.
Paula - Project assistant
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Paula initially joined the project as a parent, sharing our beliefs on family and support, since her youngest has gone to school however, she has also supported the project as a committed volunteer.
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After volunteering her time Paula was asked to join us as a paid member off our team to support our families and share her wealth of knowledge on topics such as breastfeeding and babywearing.
David - Chair
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David joined the trustees in 2015 when he retired from full time employment. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer and served for six years as a trustee on the council of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London.
In addition to his experience as a charity trustee he brings business management experience to our team. His bidding experience is also useful as we seek funding for the future operation of FIT.
Raj - Treasurer
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Dr Raj Bandak became a GP in Sutton Hill in 1984 and became aware of the huge unmet needs of many mothers living on the estate who had no or little support.
He formed a steering committee to address these needs in 1994 and the Sutton Hill Families Project was formed in 1995 which he Chaired. This amalgamated with another local charity to form Families in Telford in 2013 when he became treasurer.
He retired from general practice in 2015 to become a busy grandfather soon after, currently of 4 grandchildren.
Jo - Secretary
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Jo has been a member of Families in Telford since 2016 when she started attending the groups with her son. She has been involved on the committee since 2017 and took over as secretary in 2018.
She finds having a degree in drama and education studies useful for understanding how children develop and learn.
Most of her spare time is taken up with her son and she is currently studying for her level two maths; the confidence to do so which she attributes to Families in Telford. She also likes to study the bible with her husband and attends church on a Sunday.
Pat
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Pat, was one of the founders of the projects to support local families over 25 years ago and in 2021 we had to say a very sad final farewell to her.
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After leaving school and training as a nursery nurse, Pat supported families in many ways in professional life included developing nursery provisions in a Dr. Barnardos Home adoption centre. Pat worked tirelessly throughout her life to support children and their families finding themselves in difficult circumstances.
She was one of the most genuinely kind and caring people you could ever have hoped to meet and will be missed very much.
David
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Although sadly no longer with us, David was a pivotal member of Families in Telford from the very beginning.
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He was Treasurer to the Woodside Playgroup from 1970 and subsequently to Woodside Family Groups from 1994. He was Secretary of Families in Telford from it's creation in 2013 till 2018.
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He is a greatly missed member of the FiT family.