Jools has worked at Home-Start for 8 years, managing Home-Start Basingstoke and Deane for the past 7 years. She has seen the organisation grow and develop in that time. Her many achievements include: -Responding almost overnight to the Covid Pandemic. She organised staff to work from home, groups to be run on Zoom and volunteers to visit their families outdoors for ‘socially distanced’ walks, reducing the isolation many of our families were feeling at that time.
Introducing new groups to respond to families’ needs, including Little Wellies so that children who live in flats can experience the outdoors, and recently expanding our services to include support during the last trimester of pregnancy for first time Mums. Implementing new systems for recording family information and reporting on achievement to our funders.
Perhaps her greatest achievement was leading the organisation through the nomination process for Kings Award for Voluntary Services, which is the highest accolade for voluntary organisations. And all this while studying for a degree with the Open University, managing a (junior) football team and leading a local running group!
We wish Jools success in her new venture and Good Luck for the future. We will miss you!