Meet our inclusion champions
At Family Fund we encourage and welcome staff views. Diversity brings variety of thought and we encourage this in all that we do. Our inclusion champions have an important role to play. They support the delivery and embedding of our inclusion statement. They are part of dialogues that shapes our approach to inclusion. They lead and support challenging conversations. Finally, they encourage all colleagues to be heard.
Salena Begley (She/Her)
“Central to this is the belief that all people have fundamental human rights. We should experience equal access to our rights, opportunities, dignity and fair treatment. I am delighted that Family Fund is on a journey to becoming more diverse, equitable and inclusive.
“As an inclusion champion, I am looking forward to the opportunity to reflect on my own beliefs, practices and experiences. I also hope that this will provide the opportunity to learn, to collaborate, to constructively challenge, where necessary, and ultimately contribute to Family Fund evolving as an organisation.”
Clare Bonetree (She/Her)
“I grew up highly aware of racism due to having ethnically diverse family members and living outside the UK. As a teenager I was active in the UK anti-apartheid movement.
“I came out as a member of what we now call the LGBTQ+ community during the time of campaigning against Clause 29. I’ve seen a lot of change over the years, and I have been proud to be part of the UK disability rights movement.
“I think diversity is beautiful, and I’m really excited to bring my enthusiasm, commitment, and experience to turn the tide towards greater inclusion and equality.”
Chloe Deyes (She/Her)
“Alongside of work, I have just completed my masters in applied human rights. This has developed my knowledge around equality and equity globally, as well as understanding the human rights based issues people face across the UK.
“I decided to become an inclusion champion as across home, work and my university life, I aim to advocate for the equity of those marginalised by societal, economic and political norms and practices. At Family Fund, we should all aim to advocate and provide space to listen to the voices of those who do not have the power to do so themselves. This can be staff, volunteers or the families we support. I am excited to see what promoting more open discussions and making progressive changes towards a focused equality, diversity and inclusive Family Fund can achieve.”
Josh Gregson (He/Him/They/Them)
“Outside of work I am a scout leader and from that I learnt how important it is to treat others with the respect they deserve. The whole scouting organisation has always felt very inclusive to me personally. No matter who you are, you are welcome. From a young age this was taught to me by scouts and I try to take that empathy into my work.
“Seeing how compassionate everyone was helped me understand myself and be comfortable being part of the LGBT+ community, without fearing backlash. This makes me want to emulate those views and take them into my daily life and in, and outside of, work.”
Hayley Woodcock (She/Her)
“I work within the Business Development Team for Family Fund Business Services, so it’s my job to bring on new clients to generate an income for Family Fund.
“I know first-hand that workplaces have a big role to play in promoting equity, as in the past I was a single parent (to my 13yearold son!) for eight years and experienced the challenges of balancing motherhood whilst building a career.
“I decided to become an Inclusion Champion because I believe that everyone from all walks of life should have access to the same opportunities. I’m particularly passionate about developing people, promoting mental wellbeing, and getting women into leadership roles. I’ve previously worked for global corporations where employees were treated unfairly and not listened to, so I am excited that here I will have the opportunity to elevate my coworkers’ ideas.
“As an Inclusion Champion, I hope to be able to advocate for my colleagues and work to make Family Fund as fair, diverse, and inclusive as possible.”
Chris Rulton (He/Him)
“The value placed on people and their life experiences has been important to me for as long as I can remember. This is probably a result of the social projects family members were always involved with. This is shown in both the causes and media I feel connected with, and with the roles and organisations I have felt drawn to as my career has progressed.
“With 15 years’ experience of analysis, development, and line management within roles with a social purpose, I now use that expertise to help protect the rights and freedoms of all who come into contact with Family Fund. Becoming an inclusion champion helps me achieve this while also promoting equity, fairness, and kindness.”
Tasha Taylor (She/Her)
“Inclusion is always something I am mindful of, and even though I am queer myself, I am still learning! It matters a lot to me that there is equity across all marginalised groups; I am proud of the strides being made each day, and I owe a lot to those that paved the way for the LGBTQ+ community before I was even born.
“As a charity that helps those with disabled children, I believe that inclusion should always be a consideration and we can continuously strive to improve to this end. Representation matters so very much, and disabled children currently have very little representation in popular culture and media.
“As a safeguarding officer, I know that there are a lot of LGBTQ+ children who suffer from mental health difficulties as a result of discrimination, being invalidated or being bullied because of who they are. This is something quite personal for me, and so I am determined to do what I can to improve their quality of life. I believe being an inclusion champion can help me to that end.”
Lauren Ruddock (They/Them)
“I am autistic, neurodivergent, and have a gender identity of agender, as well as identifying as both bisexual and asexual. I have experience of mental illness, I identify as being disabled. The difference made by treating someone as they are, including them, seeing them as a human and not just their illness or condition is so important.
“Outside work I volunteer as a York Ending Stigma (YES) champion – which is someone who has lived experience of mental illness. I’ve felt so empowered by being involved in this work and being surrounded by like-minded people that don’t judge me for being me.
“Since coming to Family Fund, I have been treated like a human in the workplace for the first time in a long time and allowed to be my ’weird self’. My main reason for being an inclusion champion is to contribute to creating an environment where my colleagues feel able to be themselves.”