Meet the team

I’m a mum of 3 fabulous teenagers, I came into post as the CEO of Rother Voluntary Action in October 2020, and our role as an infrastructure organisation is to support local charities and voluntary groups grow and thrive in Rother. RVA have been providing crucial support to the voluntary and community sector in Rother since 2006, and I am delighted to lead the organisation when this support has never been more vital.

I’m passionate about equality and enabling individuals and our communities to help themselves,and previously, I founded Little Gate a local charity in 2012, as I felt there was a lack of opportunity of adults with autism and learning disabilities to go into paid work. It was a fantastic learning journey for me and the team, we doubled in size year on year and we as an organisation had to adapt and change and grow with it.

I stepped down in 2020 as Chief Exec of Little Gate, and throughout the pandemic I provided mentoring and talks for the school of Social Entrepreneurs before starting as CEO at Rother Voluntary Action in October 2020. I also had the privilege of being chair of Governors at Glyne Gap school until August 2020 and I sit on the Eggtooth advisory board.

I joined RVA in March 2022 following a 35-year career with Barclays. My responsibilities lie with the Finance and Operations of the Charity.

I am married with two grown up children and will frequently be seen walking along Bexhill seafront with our Golden Retriever.

I have been a School Governor at St Peter and St Paul C of E Primary School and currently a Trustee with Homecall which is a Bexhill charity which provides a Home Visiting service for the Visually Impaired.

I have worked in the voluntary sector for most of my life, in roles ranging from admin, fundraising, marketing, project management, Head of Service and Director. I love the creativity and dynamic nature of the sector which is driven by a real desire to help others. In my own time, I enjoy writing, board-games, walking and DIY! I am married and have a baby daughter.
As Project Lead for the Volunteer Hub, you can contact me about trustee recruitment or volunteer training at jen.atherall@rva.uk.com, or anything else about volunteering to either myself or annette.holmes@rva.uk.com.

I joined RVA in December 2021 to become part of the ‘Make It Happen’ (MIH) project. Over the past 15 years I have worked in various roles ranging from Housing & Homelessness, Children’s Services, Crisis Support, Mental Health Recovery, Health & Wellbeing, Community Support & working within the Voluntary sector.
I have always loved working with the community and find it extremely inspiring to be able to see individual’s, communities and services grow. I have worked in front line support, front line management and service management. I have always seen the value in client / community led services and therefore have a great passion for the ABCD ‘Asset Based Community Development’ approach.
I have been a resident in Rother my whole life alongside many generations in my family. It’s a beautiful place to live. I have three young boys that keep me very busy in my spare time. We enjoy taking the dog for walks and heading to the seafront to watch the sunrise and sunset.
I love watching nature and especially love to see buzzards flying over the Highwoods in Bexhill.

I am one of RVA’s Community Development Officers, involved in the ‘Make it Happen’ project based in and around Eastern Rother which aims to simply help turn ideas into reality as far as community groups or individuals are concerned.

I also lead on the I Know How project which is an Interreg project concentrating on assisting people with a cancer diagnosis to return to work.

My main interests include running around the local footpaths especially with various kids in tow and swimming in the local rivers as well as a lifelong interest in plants.

I began my journey in community development in September 2016, when I first started my role at RVA. Although I was fairly new to community development, I soon found out that it was something that I really enjoyed doing and that by helping people, families, communities and groups achieve their aims and objectives through my work, I contributed to making Bexhill and Rother a better place to live.

Previously, I worked in the Mental Health and Wellbeing sector, an experience which has provided me with invaluable skills that I have been able to carry through in my community development work.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, learning languages, ballroom dancing and playing the guitar! I am also a mum to two wonderful children, aged 4 and 8.

As an Active Communities Coordinator for the Making It Happen (MIH) and I Know How (IKH) projects, you can get in touch with me about supporting you to start something new in your community or about getting involved in existing community projects/activities.

For the last 18 years, I have worked in the voluntary sector, in Housing, Homelessness, Substance Misuse and Social Prescribing. More recently I have worked directly within Community Development and I have a real passion for this type of work.

 

A Bexhill resident for 26 years, I love this Town! I sing in a choir here, play tennis and enjoy walking on the promenade where I meet lots of people…

I work within the General Infrastructure Team at RVA which means I often have the first contact with a group who may need support around legal structure; Governance; Funding; ideas and help with project/business plans and pretty much anything else!

I joined RVA as a Finance and Admin Assistant in November 2020 and more recently I have taken on the role of Customer Service Operative. I am new to the voluntary sector, but I am really enjoying learning new skills and being part of the wonderful team at RVA.

 

 

In my spare time, I enjoy days out with my family, reading and I am a regular blood donor. I am married, live in Bexhill and have an 20 month old Little Boy, who keeps me young and on my toes!

I joined RVA as a student intern working on the Clean Seas Please project, during my undergraduate. After the completion of a successful year, in 2019, I was offered a permanent position at the organisation. As part of my role, I am charge of the written, video, and photo content for all social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and the maintenance of a unified brand voice across different channels, including the website. I am also in charge of the monthly RVA Newsletter.

On a personal note, I moved to Bexhill in 2017. I enjoy cooking, baking, and reading in my free time.

I moved to East Sussex in 2018 following a year out to of working to go travelling around Asia, Australia and New Zealand with my husband, having lived in Kent for most of my life. I have worked in education for over 20 years, first as a teaching assistant and then as a primary school teacher.

I started working at RVA in October 2020 on the HAIRE Project (Healthy Ageing through Innovation in Rural Europe). On completion of this project, I took on the role of volunteer co-ordinator working with volunteers and Volunteer Involving Organisations in building a thriving volunteering culture in Rother.

I believe volunteering should be open to everyone, with all kinds of volunteering roles available, and has many benefits, mental, physical and spiritual, for those who do it.

Along with walking our lovely dog around the beautiful Rother countryside and beaches, I enjoy gardening, cooking and eating!

I have been a Community Development Worker for many years and joined RVA in January 2022 as part of the Making it Happen Team.
I really enjoy the role, it’s great to be involved in helping local people to deliver what’s needed in they would like to see in their own neighbourhoods.
I have lived in Rother and brought up my family for over 40 years. I’m now enjoying being a Grandparent and doing childcare two days a week.
In my spare time I really enjoy going to live/theatre music events and the local countryside.