{"id":5220,"date":"2021-10-31T21:18:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T20:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/milton-keynes\/?p=5220"},"modified":"2021-10-31T21:18:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T20:18:37","slug":"celebrating-invisible-women-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/milton-keynes\/2021\/10\/31\/celebrating-invisible-women-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Invisible Women – October"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Amy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Amy Searle, Parish Councillor, Mum and worker in the Justice Service.\u00a0 A Little about me<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was recently asked at work to think about what my personal #Hashtag would be, if I had to choose one.\u00a0 Something that sums me up in a single sentence.\u00a0 So, I started to think about what others usually say about me and that\u2019s when it hit me\u2026. My personal hashtag would have to be #AlwaysontheGo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sort of a running joke that I can\u2019t say no to things.\u00a0 Which is funny really because I\u2019m quite an assertive person!\u00a0 But I really find a lot of joy in being able to give something back to the local community where I can.\u00a0 I would urge anyone reading this to think about what their personal and professional #Hashtags would be \u2026. It certainly gets you thinking.<\/p>\n

So, a bit about me \u2026. I\u2019m a thirty-three-year-old mum to a toddler and I work full time within the justice sector, which I have done for 13 years now.\u00a0 Straight out of Uni, I leapt into the world of Probation (I never completed my dissertation, due to personal family issues at the time) but I always wanted to work in crime \u2013 a sentence you don\u2019t often hear!\u00a0 But I do of course mean the right side of crime \u2013 reducing reoffending and managing risk, to prevent further victims and harm.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in many roles throughout my time in Probation; Operational Support, Probation Services Officer, Trainer\/Facilitator, Project Subject Matter Expert, an Analyst and finally Career Pathways Manager.\u00a0 My professional hashtag is definitely #PassionateAboutDevelopingPeople<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s the full-time-work-me, but there is also a part-time-work-me.\u00a0 Now this might sound ridiculous, but alongside working full time, I actually work part time on my craft business that I developed during Covid.\u00a0 It happened completely unexpectedly and without any intention of developing into a business, but here we are! I\u2019ve always loved arts and crafts but never thought for a second that it would take off!\u00a0 I lose hours of time designing things but when the end result comes together, it really is worthwhile.<\/p>\n

I also undertake some voluntary work within my local community. \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m a Parish Councillor for the Parish I reside in and I\u2019m also a Good Neighbours Scheme Co-Ordinator.\u00a0 Being a Parish Councillor has been a real honour, to be able to vote on things that have an impact on our local community.\u00a0 For example, we currently have a proposal for a development of an additional 6000 houses to be built next to our village, so we are campaigning for our residents to respond to the consultation and have their say on the matter.\u00a0 I also deal with most of the communications for the Parish Council, to try and engage more with the local community.<\/p>\n

As mentioned already, I also co-ordinate a Good Neighbours Scheme, which is a working party of the Parish Council.\u00a0 It is made up of two councillors and a number of volunteers and was created initially as a response to Covid.\u00a0 During the first lockdown when over 65\u2019s were shielding, volunteers would go out shopping for our elderly residents, collect prescriptions and generally just support them in any way possible within the boundaries of the restrictions. We supported over 60 residents during this time which was fantastic.\u00a0 As covid restrictions eased, we decided to make this a more formal, permanent scheme and therefore linked in with the National Good Neighbours Scheme.\u00a0 We still carry out our volunteering element for a couple of residents locally, but we also spend a lot of time planning and delivering events.\u00a0 Within the last year we have provided a hot Christmas dinner to 104 elderly and\/or vulnerable residents, put on an Easter Trail event, a Pride event, a Scarecrow Trail event, a community play event and we are now working on a Christmas event with a trail for the kids and stalls from local businesses showcasing their Christmas gifts and goodies.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably thinking where do you find the time for all of this, and after writing this down on paper, I\u2019d be lying if I wasn\u2019t thinking the same thing! But the truth is, I can\u2019t do all of these things without the support of my husband. So, I\u2019ll leave you with some very important lessons I\u2019ve learned over the last few years:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ask for help. If there is something you want to do or become involved with, ask for support from those around you.\u00a0 Whether you just want some encouragement, or to be listened to, or whether you need physical help to do something \u2013 please just ask.\u00a0 Asking for help is not a sign of weakness and I always live by \u201cif you don\u2019t ask, you don\u2019t get\u201d.<\/li>\n
  2. Accept your limitations. There is so much more I would love to do for my community, but first and foremost I\u2019m a Mum to the most incredible mini human and she will always come first no matter what.\u00a0 Accept that it\u2019s difficult to negotiate time, but it\u2019s important to find the balance and be present for your family.\u00a0 I take my little one to a dance class on a Saturday morning, and get to spend 45 minutes in the freezing cold waiting room, so I deal with my life admin then! Which leads me to the next point \u2026..<\/li>\n
  3. Organisation really is one of the keys to success. Maybe it\u2019s the Project Manager within me, and I\u2019m sure an undiagnosed form of OCD but I truly believe good planning pays dividends.\u00a0 I\u2019m always thinking a few months ahead and planning my time and tasks.\u00a0 I write to do lists because frankly, if it\u2019s not written down it isn\u2019t happening.\u00a0 Do what works for you; I do genuinely believe that you feel more content and confident with a plan in place \u2013 even a very informal and ever changing one!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Thank you for taking the time to read about me.\u00a0 I was genuinely honoured to be asked to do this.\u00a0 Although at first, I thought why would anyone want to know about me?! But my husband reminded me that it\u2019s nice to reflect on your achievements and he\u2019s right! Its lovely to be recognised for the endless hours that go into making positive changes in local communities.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re thinking about undertaking voluntary works for your local community \u2013 my advice is just go for it! It\u2019s highly rewarding.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Amy Searle, Parish Councillor, Mum and worker in the Justice Service.\u00a0 A Little about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":638,"featured_media":5221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[242,243,240,244,239,207,241],"class_list":["post-5220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-good-neighbours-scheme","tag-national-good-neighbours-scheme","tag-parish-councillor","tag-probation-service","tag-volunteer","tag-working-for-the-community","tag-working-mum"],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating Invisible Women - October | News | Blog | Events | SI Milton Keynes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SI Milton Keynes : Blog & News : Celebrating Invisible Women - October : Keep up to date with the latest news, articles and events from the Soroptimists of SI Milton Keynes . 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