The Bolt Burdon Kemp Charity gets to work!
Chair of Trustees Jonathan Wheeler introduces the charity’s new committee members.
I am pleased as punch to report an overwhelming response to our call for staff volunteers to sit on our fundraising and grant-making committees – we had many more expressions of interest than we had places to fill.
We launched the Bolt Burdon Kemp Charity earlier this year to support more injured people, their families and charities, and help individuals from diverse backgrounds access a career in law. This fantastic response from our team bodes well and as the charity grows in the future we can harness the talents of many more of the firm’s staff who – like the partners at Bolt Burdon Kemp – want to give something back.
Among the new recruits to our grant-making committee, led by trustee Rebecca Sheriff, is Connor Hawkins, one of our graduate solicitor apprentices. He has previously been involved with a charity helping students from lower income and disadvantaged backgrounds enter university. A passion to promote social mobility was the driving factor behind Connor’s application.
We also welcome Megan Greaves, a paralegal with the firm’s Abuse team, who shares Connor’s desire to improve access to the legal profession. She describes herself as a “first-gen university student” who didn’t know any lawyers when she was trying to get into the industry. Without the support of those she met after she landed her first legal job, she says she would have continued with the belief that law wasn’t for people like her. Glad you made it Megan, and great to have you on board!
Ella Croyden-Flack is a solicitor in our Child Brain Injury team. She was motivated to get involved by the plight of those people who contact us having sustained devastating injuries, but who we can’t help because there is no legal basis for a claim. Ella says: “Statutory services just don’t do enough for injured people and their families, and it would be so very rewarding to be able to ease even one concern for an individual.”
Hayley Chapman-Todd, a senior solicitor in our Abuse team, felt she would enjoy compiling and applying funding criteria to help the charity make well-informed, strategic grant decisions for maximum benefit for its causes. In the past she has been involved with projects promoting social mobility, including being invited into comprehensive schools to talk about legal careers as part of the Streetlaw Project.
Jack Ridgway is a relatively new partner with the firm in our Costs team. He has just stepped down from leading the (not-for-profit) Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) for three years, during which time he introduced an annual grant for two scholarships to the ACL training course, paid for from ACL’s investment portfolio. A key element of the scholarship programme for Jack was that it promoted equality and social mobility.
Olivia Ward has just qualified as a solicitor with us and joins the Complex Injury team. Her passion for helping injured people and their families extends beyond the workplace, and she currently volunteers with Guide Dogs to help provide support for people with sight loss. Guide dog puppies trained by Olivia will enable someone with sight loss to live actively and independently, changing their lives for the better. Which is what we are all about at BBK!
Our fundraising committee is led by trustee Rhicha Kapila. We have been accredited by the Fundraising Regulator and have added a donations page to our website. Whilst the majority of our funding is expected to come from the partners of the LLP, giving a percentage of profits each year, we are happy to accept donations and our fundraising committee will come up with innovative ideas to raise more funds to further the work of the charity.
We welcome Karley Hewitt to the committee. Karley’s background as head of our Events team means she is an unflappable organiser and as such she is an asset to any committee! Karley loves to fling herself into the life of the firm and she is heavily involved in our staff groups such as BEqual, celebrating our cultural diversity, and highlighting key dates in the EDI calendar.
Marek Marczynski is a senior solicitor in our Abuse team and comes with an impeccable pedigree having previously worked as a lawyer with the charity Amnesty International and a trustee of the Institute of Global Responsibility. Earlier in Marek’s professional life he used to train charity personnel on developing fundraising proposals for external donors. We are lucky to be able to harness his expertise.
Maya Englesberg is a senior solicitor in our Child Brain Injury team. She has always been motivated by charitable work and has been involved in all sorts of fundraising over the years, including setting up the BBK running club with the goal of completing a 10k run for Brake, the road safety charity. She promises to bring “creative and innovative ideas” and an “enthusiastic attitude” to the committee.
Before Ellie Steward joined Bolt Burdon Kemp as a senior support clerk, she worked for The Silverlining Charity. Her responsibilities included fundraising and bid-writing to bring in the money to pay for the services the charity offered to brain injury survivors, as well as its operating costs – including her own salary! Ellie says: “The support BBK has provided to The Silverlining Charity and many others over the last 10+ years was what inspired me to work here”.
Lucy Wakeley is a Public Affairs executive. Recently, she has been very focused on campaigning against government plans to withdraw funding for solicitor apprenticeships, which has involved researching the social barriers to entering the legal profession. Outside work she is a local councillor, a trustee of two charities and a part-time carer which gives her a good understanding of the challenges our clients and their families face.
Claire Withey is an Associate in our Military team. She has been involved in fundraising for charities allied to her client-base, such as Blesma, and PTSD Resolution, supporting limbless veterans and those with mental health problems respectively. Keen to promote others’ access to the legal profession, Claire’s pitch to join the committee was to explore mentoring for those who might need an initial helping hand in becoming a solicitor.
Finally (but by no means leastly) we welcome Kim Alexander, Associate in our Public Affairs team. Kim takes the lead on many of the firm’s relationships with the charities which support our clients and others like them. She is passionate about supporting good causes, and sees first-hand the difference charities make to people’s lives and communities. Having someone with Kim’s experience and expertise on the committee is a real boon!
You are all fabulous for volunteering and I look forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead!
