Everyone can make a difference.
Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they work together.
‘I'm not sure I put in as much as I get out of being part of this group. I have made such good friends amongst the refugees and volunteers that I can really say my life is richer for being part of Shaftesbury Refugee Group.’
John
Friendship.
It costs nothing to be a Friend of the Shaftesbury Refugee Group (SRG) and Friendship enables us to keep you updated, connects you to others and allows us to ask for your help in whatever way you can give it. We know we can be stronger together!
Friends who become Volunteers are bound by the policies put in place for the charity to act safely and sensitively in its work with people made vulnerable by war.
The Trustees.
The Trustees are all fit and proper people who live in the area and volunteer with the families who moved to be safe here.
Carolyn Godfrey is the current Chair and was inspired to volunteer having been the Corporate Director leading the Syrian Resettlement Scheme in Wiltshire.
Sara Jacson MBE. Sara is a founder member of SRG and its Secretary. Always working in the Voluntary Sector she has initiated many projects in Shaftesbury and North Dorset to support and encourage local residents both young and old to live life to the full. Sara is a Freeman of the Town of Shaftesbury.
Roz Hanby worked in the airlines and travelled extensively visiting Lebanon and Syria before the wars. The plight of refugees who lost their homes in these beautiful countries inspired her to get involved in, what was initially a small group supporting the Syrian refugee families, when they first arrived in Shaftesbury in 2017. Roz is our Vice Chair.
Stephen Wiles. Stephen is our Treasurer. He is a retired accountant with experience in small business accounts and advice. He has a history of supporting charities as a treasurer and adviser. His heart goes out to the experience of refugees and wants to give something back to assist them in their new life in North Dorset.
Julia Markus. Julia worked in adult education and is a qualified English and ESOL teacher. She has taught for many years both abroad and in the UK, in state comprehensives and in FE settings, as well as editing texts for exam teaching. Outside work she volunteers with Ukrainian refugees in Shaftesbury, helps students with the charity Readeasy, organises the Shaftesbury Community Choir and is on the committee for the Shaftesbury Book Festival - Reading the Land.
Nicola Pender. Nicola has worked in the charitable sector since 2008 She has experience working in Asia and Europe and has skills in fund raising, event management and communications. Nicola is passionate about social justice and establishing people in a community.
Stuart Twiss was working for the British Council when he first met refugees from Palestine in Syria. It was the destruction of Damascus that moved him to join the Group. Stuart is the Information Officer and Web Manager.
“I don’t think I could call myself a volunteer any more. What am I? I feel more like a mother now, part of the family.”
Roz