The Pendsey Trust is run by a group of young professionals with an interest in international development and personal links to diabetes. We are all volunteers and run the charity alongside our ‘day jobs’. Here are the people involved in co-ordinating the work of The Pendsey Trust:
Founder and President
Lucy Laycock founded The Pendsey Trust after making a radio documentary about the situation for children with Type 1 diabetes in the developing world. She was inspired by the tireless work of Dr Pendsey and his staff at the DREAM Trust in India, and was touched by the desperate situation facing children unable to afford the insulin they need to survive. She decided to make it her mission to share Dr Pendsey’s vision that access to education can help these individuals enter employment to afford their own medication, to look forward to a healthy sustainable future.
When not working hard on the charity, Lucy is a keen traveller, and is working hard to tick all the boxes on her ‘Bucket List’. She enjoys a diverse range of hobbies from skiing to Spanish!
You can contact Lucy via here, or follow her on Twitter.
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Jo Fox
Social Media Officer &Trustee |
Jo is Mum to Oliver and is from West Yorkshire. Jo first became involved with The Pendsey Trust after Oliver was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was 6 years old. Initially Jo & Oliver began fundraising, organising several events in their home town of Batley. When not looking after Oliver, working on her business and helping run The Pendsey Trust, Jo enjoys travelling, camping in her old VW camper and attending live music events.
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Polly Laycock
Events Officer & Trustee
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Polly has been working with The Pendsey Trust for several years after seeing the wonderful work at Dr Pendsey’s clinic in India in August 2014. The trip demonstrated to Polly the incredible difference that education and business grants make to the individuals who have been helped by the charity. Polly and is honoured to be able to work towards helping the charity to change more lives.
Catriona Laycock
Child Sponsorship Officer
Catriona runs the sponsorship of children for the charity and really enjoys building rapport with our kind sponsors.
Catriona sponsors a child herself and has found it a very uplifting and rewarding experience, her family look forward to receiving updates from Nandhini and are pleased to report she is doing well. Catriona and her family send photos and small gifts to Nandhini and her brother from time to time, and are so pleased to be able to support The Pendsey Trust in this way. Catriona is passionate about the work The Pendsey trust does in raising funds to educate these children in order that they can become independent young people.
| Photo to follow | Christopher Mainstone
Treasurer |
Christopher was educated up a tower, in a field near some cows. Much to the surprise of his parents Christopher managed to pull his act together to get into Nottingham Univerisity where he met the intrepid Martin who would later introduce him to The Pendsey Trust. In his spare time, Christopher enjoys singing in choirs and playing in orchestras, along with being outdoors, especially on his bike. Christopher is involved in fund raising for Cancer Research and Help the Heroes amongst other local charities.
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Vicky Gibbs
Universities Liaison Officer |
Vicky is a university graduate with a degree in French and Spanish. As you can probably guess from her degree, she loves learning languages. Being understood in a different tongue is also a bonus! She enjoys running, listening to music, and can find a Friends quote for just about any situation.
Vicky was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2010, whilst studying abroad. She says, “My healthcare since my diagnosis has been far from sub-standard. I’ve always been lucky enough to have access to a good healthcare team, a DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse) who is only a phone call away, a dietitian if I need to see one, and most recently, psychological care, because the emotional side of living with diabetes is just as important as the physiological side. Between us, we can make changes to my insulin dose, change settings on my pump and enhance my carb counting skills. I appreciate that without the benefit of an NHS, people in other countries can not access these resources, so for that reason, I have chosen to become involved with The Pendsey Trust.”
Vicky’s specialist role within Pendsey is to liaise with universities; raising awareness, promoting the charity and building lasting relationships with student unions, clubs and universities.
Read her blogs about diabetes here.
Dr. Pendsey
Dr Sharad Pendsey is a consultant in diabetology and the Director of the Diabetes Clinic and Research Centre in Nagpur, India. He has numerous publications on Diabetes to his name and has been recipient of various national and international awards, most recently the Thomas Fuschberger Award for his Diabetes charity work.
Dr Pendsey founded the DREAM Trust after witnessing the tragic and preventable deaths of two girls who could not afford the insulin they needed to survive. The charity has enabled hundreds of similar children to access this lifesaving medication. Dr Pendsey’s vision that education can help such individuals escape the cycle of poverty was the inspiration for the foundation of The Pendsey Trust and we are delighted to continue working closely with the DREAM Trust today.
You can read more about who Dr. Pendsey is, and the amazing work he does, that has inspired the founding of The Pendsey Trust here.
Our Helpers
The work of The Pendsey Trust would not be possible without the support of our numerous volunteers and donors. A dedicated team of supporters join us at our monthly meetings to brainstorm ideas, offer their skills and help run our tiny charity. We are always looking for new people to join us: if you are interested, please contact us here.
