Juliette Randall - Chief Executive Expand I joined ERIC as CEO in May 2015. I'm passionate that children and teenagers have the support, tools and opportunities they need to thrive, so I'm delighted to be leading an organisation dedicated to ensuring every child and teenager with a bowel or bladder condition should live free from embarrassment, shame, isolation and fear and can access the support they need. During my time at ERIC the team has worked hard to clearly articulate our vision and put steps in place to demonstrate the positive impact our work has. One special highlight was when we welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to our Bristol offices in March 2016. HRH met some of our beneficiaries as well as our corporate supporters, donors, trustees, staff and volunteers and undoubtedly left with a deeper appreciation of the issues facing children and teenagers with bowel and bladder problems. The best thing about working for ERIC is the enthusiasm and commitment of everyone involved to listen, learn and grow our expertise so that we can continue to provide the best and most relevant services to the children and families we support. Follow me on Twitter @JulietteR9k and connect with me on LinkedIn.
Brenda Cheer - ERIC Nurse Expand I'm the ERIC Nurse and am the first person to hold this post. I started working as ERIC Nurse in May 2013, but I was already familiar with the charity, having done freelance work as an ERIC trainer for some years before that. The ERIC Nurse role was created to find ways to improve early intervention into childhood continence problems. I've spent the last three years striving to increase awareness of children’s bladder and bowel health, by designing easy-to-understand information for parents and providing training for healthcare professionals and early years workers. I’ve also produced a generic children’s continence care pathway, which ERIC is promoting as a model of best practice. I was truly honoured to be shortlisted for - and then win! - a Nursing Times Award 2016 for this early intervention work. Continence nurses work in an unglamorous profession but we love what we do and we're passionate about the children in our care. The Nursing Times Award recognised ERIC's work in the field, but also the work of children’s continence nurses everywhere. Whilst the ERIC Nurse project finished in May 2016, I continue to work part-time with ERIC. I’m proud of what we've achieved so far and believe that together we make a big difference to children’s lives.
Alina Lynden - Communications Manager Expand I joined ERIC in September 2012 as a helpline advisor giving information and support over the phone and via email. I'm very excited to be taking on a new role as Communications Manager from January 2017. It’s hugely satisfying to feel we are making a big difference to people’s lives through the helpline service every day, but the piece of work I’m most proud of is the children’s area of the ERIC website. The characters wee and poo (now much loved ERIC mascots!) were suggested by local school children and we were able to bring these character to life. The feedback we’ve had from parents about the children's area has been amazing. The thing I love most about working here is the feedback we get from the people we’ve helped, particularly when they’ve felt alone with the issue up until now. A mother wrote to us recently saying: “To be able to speak to someone who immediately understood the issues - both medical and emotional - was a huge relief to me and lifted a great weight off my shoulders. I also now feel that support is available should we need it going forwards.”
Diane Starr Savage - Finance Manager Expand I'm the Finance Manager at ERIC, responsible for book keeping and all matters of a financial nature. I re-joined ERIC in March 2015 after a break of almost six years, having worked previously for ERIC for 17 years. So I know the charity very well! Since its inception in 1988 I've seen it develop and grow into an organisation with a long and successful track record. I'm proud that I've re-organised ERIC's financial systems and brought greater rigour and efficiency to our internal processes. The best thing about working here is being part of a small organisation which helps children and young people who are going through some really tough challenges. Dealing with wee and poo might be an unglamorous cause, but we hear every day how the support we provide really turns lives around.
Jackie Fuidge - Learning & Development Manager Expand I joined ERIC in December 2011. I organise training seminars for healthcare professionals - our aim is to ensure that all those supporting children with continence problems receive the best possible training so that these conditions can be identified and treated as early as possible. I also manage our bi-annual conference which brings together professionals working in childhood and adolescent bowel and bladder health to hear the latest research in the field, discuss innovative approaches to managing problems and network with others. I'm really proud of the conferences I organised in 2014 and, most recently, in October 2016. The feedback we received from those who attended was incredibly positive, with many saying they found the day inspirational. I love working for ERIC because I have the opportunity to be involved in so many different things. It's very rewarding hearing from the families and health professionals who really appreciate the help and support that we provide.
Julia Bishop - Volunteer Expand I started volunteering for ERIC in May 2012. I work two days a week with Jackie, the Learning & Development Manager, helping to organise training seminars - booking venues, accommodation and travel, preparing delegate packs and certificates and assessing course feedback afterwards. The contribution I'm most proud of is helping towards the success of the 2014 and 2016 conferences. ERIC is a really friendly place to volunteer and what I do is always appreciated. I love hearing about the children and families who we help. I've also learned a lot about wee and poo since working here! Jackie says: "Julia is an incredibly valued member of the ERIC team. She's always reliable, flexible and happy to help with anything she can. She gives so much of her time, not only to ERIC but also to other great causes like St Peters Hospice and the Girl Guides. We are incredibly lucky to have her on board."
Sharron Gibson - Helpline Coordinator Expand I'm ERIC’s Helpline Coordinator and I've worked for the charity since January 2014. Together with my colleagues in the helpline team, I answer calls, send emails, moderate our message boards and coordinate visits and talks to schools. I really enjoy training new members of staff and recruiting and supporting new volunteers. It's fantastic that we've extended the helpline’s opening hours and set up a call-back system, so we're able to help even more children and teenagers manage their bowel or bladder condition. Receiving positive feedback about the support we provide is one of the best parts of my job. One mum recently said: "My daughter is only five but the impact, strain, isolation and frustration with the accidents has been weighing very heavily on our family. I wish I'd found you sooner. I really cannot thank you enough for making us feel normal and OK and understood."
Natalie Thompson - Helpline Advisor Expand I joined ERIC as a Helpline Advisor in August 2015. I've learned a lot about the scale of bowel and bladder problems among children and teenagers and the emotional impact these issues can have. I'm enjoying being part of a small, dedicated team who make a big difference to the lives of children and families experiencing continence issues. It's great to build relationships with the people we talk to on the helpline and I’m really proud whenever we get positive feedback from a family we’ve helped. One mum recently said: “Your information leaflets are so informative and the helpline staff are amazing - very good listeners, helpful, full of great advice and information... Thank you for helping us through a very stressful situation.”
Claire Sutton - Customer Service & Early Interventions Officer Expand I started volunteering for ERIC in May 2016, working one day a week with the helpline team. I support the team by sending out ERIC leaflets to schools, early years settings and health care professionals, compiling information packs for attendees at local talks and maintaining the database of contacts. I first benefitted from the helpline myself as a parent in January 2016 when my six year old daughter was diagnosed with stool withholding. The helpline team provided me with invaluable information and advice and helped us enormously as a family to deal with my daughter’s condition. I have learnt such a lot about wee and poo since then! I was keen to give something back to the charity and very much enjoy coming into the office to help. I'm astonished to see just how many children, families and health care professionals ERIC supports each and every day! Sharron says: "We were so pleased to support Claire when she needed help with her daughter's constipation and it's fantastic that she's now part of the ERIC team. Through her voluntary work, Claire's getting our information out to many more people going through the same experience as her."
Jayne Loveridge - Sales Coordinator Expand I joined ERIC in 2003. My role is Sales Coordinator. This involves dealing with shop orders, queries and the overall day-to-day running of ERIC's trading operation. I'm also always on hand to talk to parents or carers about the continence products available in our shop and advise which would best meet their specific needs. It's great when we receive lovely comments back from parents saying how helpful we've been, and how impressed they've been with the product and our customer service. I'm proud that I helped introduce a new accounts system to the charity which is now benefitting the sales team enormously. The best thing about working for ERIC is being part of such a great team and also the difference we make to the families and professionals that contact us for information and support.
Bethan Grant - Trust & Foundation Fundraiser Expand I joined the ERIC team in September 2015. I first became aware of ERIC’s work when I was struggling to get good advice on how to manage a condition my daughter was suffering with. After reading the information on ERIC’s website and speaking to one of the helpline advisors on the phone, I felt much more confident about how to support my daughter and reassured that I was not the only mum experiencing the stresses that these conditions throw up. I’m glad I’ve now got the opportunity to enable more families to benefit from ERIC’s work by securing much-needed funding from charitable trusts and foundations to keep these vital services running. The best thing about working for ERIC is hearing the success stories from families that we've helped. (The amount of chocolate brought in by the team is pretty good too!) I like this quote from a mum as it reminds me of how I felt after I'd spoken to one of the helpline advisors: “At ERIC I can talk to someone who not only listens but listens with complete understanding. ERIC has been a sanity lifeline.”
Anna Henry - Fundraising Officer Expand I came to ERIC in 2010 as a volunteer before joining the training department. I moved into fundraising 18 months later and have never looked back. I love my job, but it’s challenging: so much depends on the generosity of individual supporters to deliver the services that so many families rely on. What I love the most about my job is hearing the stories of the families we help and letting our supporters know the difference their donations have made to the lives of so many children and teenagers. I'm proud that someone once said: “You are the first charity I have donated to who have ever sent out a personalised thank you mail. It's a lovely touch and creates a lot of good will. We will certainly be supporting you in the future. Good luck - you guys have got it right.”