Winston’s Wish bolstered by addition of five new trustees

Winston’s Wish, based in Horsham with a drop-in that extends to welcome families from across West Sussex, was the first charity to help children who have been bereaved of mum, dad or a sibling, and has helped more bereaved children than any other organisation in the country.

Losing a mum or dad is devastating for a child and, without proper support, a bereaved child can struggle for years.

Winston’s Wish is dedicated to helping those children who need the understanding and help through their loss.

The trustees join as part of the charity’s plans to reach more bereaved children and their families across the UK.

The new additions to the board bring a wealth of experience, passion and knowledge to the charity. They are: Andrew Stafford, Victoria McKenzie-Gould, Guy Douglas, Nigel Purveur and Caroline Kean.

As the backbone of Winston’s Wish, the trustees collectively hold a breadth of skills and perspectives, and regularly make time to evaluate opportunities for growth and development.

Chair of Trustees, Paul Winter, commented: “We are delighted and privileged to have Andrew, Victoria, Guy, Nigel and Caroline on our Board of Trustees. They will all be passionate ambassadors for Winston’s Wish and complement our current trustees very effectively. Their blend of extensive knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to us as we focus on our expansion plans, and we very much look forward to working with them”.

The Trustees

n Andrew Stafford is a social science researcher and first came to Winston’s Wish in 1992 after his father died the previous year. Returning to Gloucestershire after university, Andrew became a volunteer for Winston’s Wish, contributing to Family Services activities and to the Young Ambassador programme.

n Victoria McKenzie-Gould is Group Government Affairs Director for Tesco PLC, having previously worked as a senior adviser to Tony Blair for four and a half years.

n Guy Douglas has worked in the capital markets for the last 20 years in both New York and London. He has extensive experience in raising debt finance for a diverse range of companies operating in almost every industry.

n Nigel Purveur works for Capita, one of the largest global outsource providers. He is Managing Director for the Insurance Services Division. Nigel has a longstanding relationship with Winston’s Wish which started in 1993 when he was one of the first volunteers and attended many of the Winston’s Wish residential weekends over a number of years.

n Caroline Kean is a Gloucestershire-based Senior Partner and Head of Litigation at Wiggin LLP and has been a supporter of Winston’s Wish for many years.

The trustees exist to give strategic direction to Winston’s Wish; to safeguard the good name and values of the charity and to ensure the financial stability of Winston’s Wish.

The board now doubles in size, bringing the total number of Winston’s Wish trustees to ten.

Each year, Winston’s Wish supports over 30,000 bereaved children and young people through an array of dedicated services. These in-depth support programmes include support following death as a result of accident, illness, murder, manslaughter, suicide and also through military service.

Report and picture contributed by Winston’s Wish.