Lauren joins Alice charity fundraising team

Fundraising over the past twelve months has been very different than what we could have ever imagined. Our usual fundraising events have not been able to go ahead, some have had to be adapted and lots of things have been put on pause or cancelled. Donations from businesses and individuals have significantly reduced due to the pressure on incomes as a direct result of the covid19 pandemic. Alice charity are self-funded, we do not receive any government support, so for us we must continually raise money to ensure we can continue supporting local vulnerable and disadvantaged families. We have been very lucky to have a fundraising team that keeps coming up with new and innovate ways to raise funds and awareness. In the midst of Covid-19 the lovely Steph Bradbury joined our team as Fundraising Manager. With a wealth of experience Steph is a brilliant addition to our team. She has already helped to launch several successful virtual events such as our ‘Tour De Alice’, she overcome the challenges of fundraising through a global pandemic so that we could continue to provide essential support to our local families.

This week we welcomed the wonderful Lauren Beresford, who joins us as Senior Fundraiser. We are so happy to welcome Lauren to the team, with her vast knowledge and experience of fundraising. Having just completed her first week at Alice charity, Lauren says ‘Well, what can I say, my first week has flown by and massively opened my eyes! Of course, I realised that poverty existed within Stoke on Trent and Newcastle but not quite to the extent that I have witnessed this week. If I am honest, I didn’t quite realise just how much poverty is going on right now on my own doorstep. I have witnessed this by listening to our wonderful family support workers on their calls this week – the phone has not stopped ringing and since the global pandemic this has impacted our services even more. Whether it has been for food, baby items, household goods, white goods or for someone to talk to, Alice is their go to place because they have nowhere else to turn to.  All the staff & volunteers at Alice have made me feel so welcome and their key value – unconditional love has just simply shone through. Everyone is so passionate and driven to help local families in need. I feel so proud to have joined team Alice!’

We are blessed to have these two inspirational ladies in our team and look forward to seeing their future accomplishments.