LINDA MAGISTRIS - FOUNDER CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
I first met my partner Graham when I was in the original cast of the BBC Series, Grange Hill and he was one of our Directors and we met again 30 years later, purely by accident.
I had been running a varied portfolio of businesses over the years since we first worked together, from a Wedding Consultancy to Vintage Tea Rooms, and Graham had been working in TV and Film. We spent the following 8 years together until he was diagnosed with a rare soft tissue sarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer, and sadly he died five and half months later.
When Graham died, I really struggled through my grief and couldn't find a service that was right for me. I then realised the urgent need to bring all UK bereavement services together under one umbrella to ensure anyone grieving was able to find the right early support if needed. I wanted to ensure professionals had a national resource available to them, and they were able to signpost the bereaved to a choice of support from day one. Our website was launched on September 2nd 2016 and since then, we have created a vast network and community of the bereaved and those working with them. We share our stories and try to make things a little better for all of us who lose someone we love, offering help and hope in one place.
I am passionate to ensure no-one falls through the net and to let those grieving know they are not alone.
SIMON SANDERSON - TRUSTEE
Simon has been a loyal supporter of The Good Grief Trust in his role as Ambassador for the charity, over a number of years. He is passionate to help raise awareness of the needs of those bereaved across the UK.
We are proud to welcome Simon onto our new Board, as Trustee, and we know that his wealth of business experience, as an employer, and Area Manager of a extensive national restaurant chain, will be a valuable asset to our charity's aims and objectives.
SHIRLEY SLATER - TRUSTEE
We welcome Shirley Slater as our new Trustee on the Board. Shirley is our Founder's lovely mother and she has been a dedicated volunteer for our charity for many years, managing the storage and distribution of our merchandise.
Shirley will bring her wealth of lived experience, as a bereaved widow to our charity, as she has sadly been deeply affected by the death of both her husband Pat in the year 2000, and subsequently her partner of 12 years Pete.
We know that with Shirley's help, we can ensure that the older bereaved generation will have a voice and her in depth knowledge about our work and key projects will support us going forward.