This month we welcomed three new staff members to the People Know How team: Amy Elliott, Emily Andrews and Nigel Gallear.
Enhancing the VIP experience
Amy Elliott is our new VIP Coordinator, and will be supporting our VIPs (volunteers, interns and placement students). This new role focuses on ensuring our VIPs gain as much from the experience of working with us as we as an organisation gain from their contribution. The creation of this new role ensures we can organise, support and work even more closely with them to identify their skills and needs. As a result, we will ensure they have fantastic experiences with us, develop their skills and gain positive experiences to take with them into the future.
“I want to help People Know How to achieve their aims, meet their values and work towards their mission. I’m excited to be in a new position in which I can work closely with VIPs and the team to achieve these aims.”
- Amy Elliott, VIP Coordinator
Amy has a background in public sociology and experience of working in community education and outreach work. All of this has led her to find work in the third sector. She was attracted to this position because of how it relates to her background and education.
“People Know How’s mission to empower individuals to be socially innovative by asking people in the communities what they want to achieve fits exactly with the kind of charity I'd hoped to work with. After meeting the team, I'm so happy I’ve been given the opportunity to work with people who are committed and willing to share their ideas and knowledge.” - Amy Elliott, VIP Coordinator
Delivering Positive Transitions
Emily Andrews, our new Positive Transitions Coordinator, will be managing the Positive Transitions service which supports children, young people and their families through primary and secondary school across all four localities in Edinburgh. This role focuses on coordinating and delivering the service and its projects such as Befriending, Arts Therapies, Family Support, Curiosity Club, All Aboard, Outdoor Journeys and more, while supporting a dedicated team of VIPs.
“I’m looking forward to helping achieve forthcoming project goals with Positive Transitions, where we will aim to grow further and find out even more about the positive impact we can make.” - Emily Andrews, Positive Transitions Coordinator
Emily has experience in working within the Higher Education sector and alongside this role she is studying an MSc in Global Crime, Justice and Security. She has also been involved in a number of previous projects with children and young people and is especially looking forward to progressing all our work with schools.
“I like how People Know How is a constantly moving charity. They raise awareness and work with people to improve and find new solutions to tackle problems. The staff team are a really friendly bunch and it’s noticeable from the offset, so you can understand how communities welcome the charity as much as they do.” - Emily Andrews, Positive Transitions Coordinator
Relaunching Reconnect
Our final addition to the team is Nigel Gallear, a familiar face at People Know How. Nigel has been volunteering since 2017. During this time he has been involved with a number of our projects and has had a significant impact on our Re:Connect digital drop-in project, which has now been reviewed and expanded into our Reconnect service.
“Being a volunteer for People Know How over the last two years gave me insight into the projects the charity is involved in. I love the ‘can do’ attitude here and the breadth of opportunity that exists because of this. Being part of People Know How is an opportunity to meet and collaborate with volunteers and clients from different walks of life and cultures in a friendly and relaxed environment.” - Nigel Gallear, Reconnect Coordinator
Nigel is now joining the team as Reconnect Coordinator and will be taking the project into its new phase – coming soon! Nigel has a background in business and finance and also works with a number of other charities here in Edinburgh.
“As Re:Connect Coordinator, I’m excited to get involved with delivering our plans to support the people of Edinburgh. I’m looking forward to working with our team of volunteers, using my experience to ensure their time with us not only contributes to our planned projects, but also helps them achieve personal goals.” - Nigel Gallear, Re:Connect Coordinator
We welcome all our new team members and wish them luck in their roles here at People Know How!