Vision
Vision
Jan Harvey and Jayne Groves have a passion for strengthening and supporting family life. Their vision is to strengthen families and communities through the provision of listening and signposting for parents/carers. The aim of Parent Buddies therefore is to provide parents/carers with the opportunity to access one to one support and to address individual needs, by equipping and resourcing local churches and organisations to set up Parent Buddies in their local area.
Jan Harvey and Jayne Groves have a passion for strengthening and supporting family life. Their vision is to strengthen families and communities through the provision of listening and signposting for parents/carers. The aim of Parent Buddies therefore is to provide parents/carers with the opportunity to access one to one support and to address individual needs, by equipping and resourcing local churches and organisations to set up Parent Buddies in their local area.
OUR VISION
To transform communities and strengthen families by empowering parents to provide their children with the best chance in life.
We achieve this through equipping and training volunteers in local churches and organisations to provide one to one listening and support to parents and primary carers.
Vision
MEET THE FOUNDER AND TRUSTEES
JAN HARVEY
Founder and Director
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Jan has a passion for families and a heart to support parents. She is married and parent to three adult daughters and four grandchildren. She has been involved in working with families for many years. Her professional background as a Registered Nurse and Health Visitor has included working with families with complex needs. 
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Her involvement with family outreach in more recent years includes running parenting courses and initiating and leading a family resource team in a church in South Gloucestershire. Initially part of the local offer to parents, Parent Buddies one to one listening service was then further developed by co-founders Jan and Jayne Groves. and became a registered charity in 2019.
REBECCA CROSS
Chair of Trustees
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Rebecca's career started in the NHS as a paediatric nurse, health visitor, manager and professional lead for health visiting, strategy manager for Early Years (health and inclusion) then commissioner for disabled children and children's mental health. More recently she worked at the Diocese of Bristol as the Strategic Programme Manager for mission area / resourcing churches and as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor delivered training across the Diocese and privately to charities and other churches.
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She has two daughters, three grandchildren and attends St Edyth's Church in Sea Mills. Rebecca has a passion for our churches to be safe, supportive spaces and runs Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing and other mental health support groups across the Avonside Mission Area.
TONY BERNDES
Trustee and Treasurer
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Tony is now retired after working in the same company for over 30 years in the Electricity Supply Industry. He was a chartered engineer, a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and managed a large team of professionals.
He is married and has three adult sons. For eight years he and his wife were foster carers for the local authority before adopting a four-year-old boy in 2015. This has given Tony a broader understanding of the many challenges of family life. Tony is involved in a local church and enjoys photography, walking and playing five-a-side football.
DAVE ROBBINS
Trustee
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Dave is married and has two adult children and is hoping to retire soon after having worked in local government for almost 40 years. He was a trustee for the South Gloucestershire Bond Scheme, a charity which helped to secure homes for people who were homeless or threatened with homelessness. More recently he was a governor at a primary school in Fishponds.
Dave was a trustee at the Resound Church in Mangotsfield for several years. Resound has supported Parent Buddies since 2013 and successfully delivered the Parent Buddies service for many years in the local community. He loves watching sport of all kinds and he is a keen supporter of the professional football club based in East Bristol.
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ALI ROWE
Trustee
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Ali is passionate about equipping parents to be the best they can be for their children. Ali is a mum, granny, ex-teacher, retired vicars wife and now a licensed lay minister in the Church of England.
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She ran many parenting courses in her previous parish and knows the benefits these can bring to families.
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Ali is currently involved in schools ministry in Christ Church Downend, which involves working alongside families. She believes that charities and churches can work alongside each other to provide vital support and friendship to families struggling with parenting.
