Penhaligons Friends
Background information
More about us:
Background information: our staff & volunteers
When you get in touch with Penhaligon’s Friends, your first point of contact will be with one of the following members of staff:
Julie Parker,Matt Bennett, Becky Thomas,Cathy Bryon-Edmond, Georgie Hodgkins or Sadie Gumma.
Julie Parker -Children's Bereavement Services Manager
Julie manages Penhaligon's Friends as well as being involved with Bereavement Days and some of the family support work.Her background prior to this includes working as a trained nursery nurse and with the NSPCC.
Julie lives in the north of the county with her partner and sons Jack and Joe. They have a wide range of animals and wildlife on their smallholding.
Matt Bennett -Family Services Coordinator
Matt has recently joined Penhaligon's Friends as the new Family Services 
Coordinator, directly supporting children and families.Previously, Matt has worked as a Community Vocational Worker for a mental health charity in Cornwall supporting people returning to work.He has also worked with children with behavioural problems in education.In an earlier career, he was an outdoor pursuits instructor and still enjoys spending his leisure time in outdoor recreation, especially walking and canoeing.
Becky Thomas- Schools Support Coordinator
Becky works closely with schools to ensure that the maximum support is offered to bereaved children in education.Many children are referred to us via schools and we are fortunate to have received Big Lottery funding towards this position. Becky also helps families and runs the teenage peer support group called Break it Down. She will be setting up more groups in other parts of the county this year.
Cathy Bryon-Edmond-Marketing and Fundraising Coordinator
Cathy helps to secure funding for the organisation through grant applications, corporate sponsorship and local fundraising. She promotes what we do via a newsletter, marketing material and other activities. Her position is being assisted by the Unlocking Cornish Potential scheme.Cathy has previously worked in several destinations in England in marketing and development roles, customer care and communications. She has looked after guests abroad as a tour guide in Madeira, France and Germany.
Georgie Hodgkins-Training and Volunteer Coordinator
Georgie has recently become the new Training and Volunteer Coordinator. As 
well as delivering a range of training modules to our own volunteers and other professionals, she oversees the invaluable input that volunteers make to the running of the charity.Georgie has been a teacher and IT trainer, has volunteered and worked for the charities CRUSE and Relate in Cornwall and is currenlty training to be a counsellor.
Sadie Gumma-Admin Assistant
Sadie works part time as our admin assistant contributing to all the office activities. She brings a wealth of experience from her days at Cornwall County Council and we value her calm, efficient and organised ways.
Contact details for all staff:
Tel 01209 215889 or 01209 210624
Trustees
The Trustees meet as a management committee approximately every six weeks and help to support the paid coordinators and the volunteers.They provide strategic direction and financial management for the organisation. They come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds including: clinical and educational psychology, CRUSE, general practice, teaching and other voluntary sector organisations. The charity's service users are also represented by a member of the committee acting as one of the trustees, ensuring that families have a say in service delivery. To see our Annual Report click here.
Volunteers
Penhaligon’s Friends relies on the generosity of volunteers to undertake much of its crucial work across Cornwall. Follow this link for more information on becoming a volunteer and forthcoming events.
