Our Staff
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Sanchia Sanday
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Sanchia joined BDDF in November 2022 having previously worked in education, IT administration and sales support, various customer service and administration roles. She is really looking forward to this new opportunity and very excited to be working closely with the members and volunteers. Sanchia has lived in Basingstoke for most of her life and has two teenagers who attend a local school. She enjoys family time, travelling around the UK, especially Cornwall and visiting new places abroad. Other interests include walking, watching rugby and following F1 motor racing.
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Lizzie Brisco
FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR
Lizzie is in the final stages of a PhD in Ecology, and will hopefully soon be a Doctor. She became disabled in her early twenties, and is passionate about helping to change attitudes around invisible illnesses and disabilities. She brings her data analysis and writing skills to her new role as our Fundraising Coordinator, and hopes for lots of funding success.
She moved to Basingstoke last year, and lives with her wife, two cats, and crazy spaniel dog in a tiny flat. In her spare time she is often found in a nice coffee shop with her wife and dog, or playing video games. She also enjoys live music, and enthusiastically supports campaigns to make this more accessible.
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George Leonard
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
George has lived in Basingstoke all their life and has been a member of BDDF since they turned 18. They work in a craft store as well as with BDDF. They are passionate about disability rights and access and spends time learning about disability activism and attends disability exhibitions. George is a disabled person and has a passion for changing views on disability, increasing accessibility and disability pride.
George lives with their parents, sisters and dog. In their free time they are often found crafting or spending time on social media where they enjoy making posts and chatting with others in the disabled community.
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Katie Loosely
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
Katie is our social media whizz here at BDDF, and balances this with other charity roles, as well as being a mum to her amazing daughters.
Our Trustees
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Hannah Reilly
CHAIR TRUSTEE
Since January 1st 2024 Hannah has stepped up from Trustee to Chair Trustee and will now be leading BDDF forward.
Hannah is an active volunteer in the community and can often be seen at the Willis Museum and is also the secretary of the Access for All Group Basingstoke and Deane.
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Mark Soutter
TRUSTEE
Mark is a a boatbuilder and a Chartered Accountant, with experience in C-Suite roles. He has over forty years’ experience across a range of businesses and countries in Europe, North America and Asia. ‘‘I have a passion for working with SMEs where I feel my enthusiasm and ability to work with others makes a difference.’’
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Jane Frankum
TRUSTEE
Jane was a Councillor for 24 years, during that time she supported BDDF greatly & then became a BDDF Patron in May 2018. Since November 2021 Jane has switched to being a BDDF Trustee.
During her time as a councillor she came across huge amounts of cases for people who were disabled or were caring for a disabled person, often they did not even realise they were carers. ‘‘Although I was able to help, I did not really appreciate just what impact being disabled brought until I became disabled myself, some 20 years ago my disabilities got more severe.’’
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Carol Hawkins
TRUSTEE
Carol is a Learner Support Assistant currently working in a local Primary School. Over the years she has been volunteering in various roles in and around Basingstoke. Most recently undertaking a position for helping individuals via a Crisis line. She has just completed the introductory course to Counselling which she hopes will also help in this role as a Trustee. Carol lives just outside of Basingstoke with her partner and has 2 children. She is a member of the Basingstoke Rock Choir in which she sings and also signs to help promote inclusion within the choir. Music has always been a big part of her life from singing to dancing and learning to play instruments. Carol is very keen to assist and help in any way she can using her own health issues and experiences as a foundation to understanding others needs.
Our Volunteers
Here at BDDF we have many wonderful volunteers who devote their time to helping us do what we do! We are extremely grateful to them all, and you can meet just a few of them below!
Matt Woods Volunteer
Matt has volunteered for BDDF since 2014 on events such as the Basingstoke Roll, The scarecrow trail, collecting money for the charity in Tesco and at the disability awareness days. Matt works for basingstoke Mencap as a leisure support worker.
Matt has a wide range of hobbies & loves playing & watching sport including football, golf, cricket & Ice Hockey. He supports the Basingstoke Bisons. He also enjoys going to the cinema & spending time with friends.
Barbara Cummins Volunteer
Barbara has lived in Basingstoke most of her life. When her family were young she was Brown Owl & on the PTA. She is currently a trustee at Headway Basingstoke which supports people with an acquired brain injury. She supports BDDF by doing signposting & walking groups.
‘‘I know Basingstoke to be a town that is supportive and community minded and I have always enjoyed being part of that.’’
Barbara’s working life was entirely in the NHS mostly as a Podiatrist & in later years managing NHS services in the community. This gave her in-depth knowledge of what support is available in the Basingstoke area and this supports her work with our signposting service.
In her leisure time she enjoys walking, cycling & especially cycle touring. She has managed to pedal around 24 countries on 6 continents. She also enjoys playing croquet several times a week & doing stained glass art.
Lifelong Trustees - In Memorandum
Jules Thomas Founder Trustee
Jules lived locally and devoted much of his life to charities, including as Founder, Chair and Trustee here at BDDF. His wonderful personality will be missed immensely by the team at BDDF, and we hope to honour his memory with our work going forward.
Trustee Vacancy
BDDF are actively open to hearing from those interested in becoming a Trustee. If you have a couple of hours spare a month, want to give back to the community and care about making the lives of our disabled community better, we would love to hear from you! We want our Board to reflect the community and encourage applicants of any gender, race, age. Those with lived experience of disability are preferred but not essential.
This is a voluntary position but will provide good experience and opportunity to learn new skills. If interested please email chair@BDDF.org.uk for more information.