Fusion Family and Youth Projects
Committee
Gloria Heywood - Chair and Trustee 2016 - 2022
It was with great sadness that we heard that Gloria had peacefully passed away at
home, on Wednesday 22nd February 2023, aged 74 years.
Gloria became involved with Fusion because she had a great passion for supporting children and young people. When Gloria was a youngster she was fortunate enough to have a youth club close to her home and attended the club every Tuesday evening. She had fond memories of the club and learned to play table tennis, darts, dodgeball and talked and laughed a lot with her friends. Her enjoyment from her experience of attending a youth club herself made her want to encourage as many young people as possible to attend Fusion so that they could have fun, feel safe and learn new things. Gloria hoped that the young people attending our youth projects would be able to look back at Fusion in the same way she looked back on her experiences at her youth club.
Gloria enjoyed visiting the Fusion projects, talking to the young people and getting to
know the staff members. She particularly enjoyed the staff BBQ she helped organise at
the end of each summer.
Gloria was a driving force in keeping Fusion going during the difficult years of the
pandemic. She encouraged the staff to keep in contact with vulnerable young people
and kept the morale of the committee high with regular lively Zoom meetings.
We will miss Gloria tremendously, but her legacy lives on in our memories of her and
in our determination to continue to develop the support to young people that Fusion
provides.
Chair and Trustee
Andrew Skea is a passionate believer in the value of Youth Work and the difference it can make to the lives of children and young people. He works at NSPCC, and enjoys all things sports related particularly Football and Triathlon. He also has two young daughters who keep him on his toes!
Vice Chair
Lynette Ippolito
Treasurer and Trustee
Mike Shellens has acted as Treasurer on the Fusion committee for several years. He believes that Fusion is an excellent way of allowing young people from a large variety of backgrounds to develop life skills in a safe environment. Mike volunteered for two years in North Africa and supports Plymouth Argyle.
Trustee
Sally Mackenzie is a Trustee. She has been involved with Fusion for over 10 years and has seen it grow from a summer project run by the County Council to become a registered charity. One of her favourite times at Fusion is the annual trip we provide to Hunstanton with three coaches full of young people and staff.
Trustee
Natalie Leigh-Brown is Community Development Lead for Urban & Civic, working on the regeneration of the former airfield at Huntingdon to create Alconbury Weald: a development of 5000 homes and an Enterprise Zone creating over 8000 jobs.
She has been involved in supporting Fusion since 2022, with Urban & Civic providing funding as part of their commitment to the wider area and improving the opportunities of local young people. She heads up the Community Development for Alconbury Weald and is able to bring these personal skills to the Fusion Board alongside the full corporate support and expertise of Urban & Civic; their wider contractors and their consultant team.
Committee Member
Sue Craven has worked with young people for several years, especially with those who have special needs. She represents All Saints Church, Hartford, who are very interested in the youth work that happens in Huntingdon and the surrounding areas.
Committee Member
Stephanie Webb
Secretary
Beth Watson is the Fusion committee Secretary. Beth is a part-time administrator, part-time Fusion Secretary, and full-time mum of two! Having grown up in Huntingdon, and being a parent, I am grateful for the energy shown by Fusion employees and volunteers in giving this space to Huntingdon's young people. I am really pleased to be able to play my small part in supporting this work.
