Gill Grisedale has been nominated for the Citizen of the Year Award sponsored by Furness Building Society.
Gill Grisedale is the Community Pastor at St Marks Chruch in Barrow-in-Furness.
Through her role she has provided groups and services that people in her community have express a need for. Gill is never sat still going in and around the community, always compiling lists of available help and resources. Never has one person started so many different and diverse groups and is also heavily involved in making sure they are sustainable . From babies through to the elderly no one is unreachable and all can be helped or indeed help.
Gill working at the clothes bank. Photo – Evening Mail – Milton Haworth
St Marks has a fully functioning clothes bank, there is a free lunch provided on Monday, craft group and a toddlers group, social groups, youth clubs, youth cafe, free hugs and a caring word. Gill does all this as well as being a mum and foster parent, wife and recently becoming a hedgehog adoption centre, there is nothing this woman will do to help everyone.
“You are trapped in a web of love and care when you meet Gill, she makes a difference to everyone she meets and is humble in all she does. An amazing lady with an amazing heart.”
Gill also works with homeless people, has an emergency food cache for those in need. On one Christmas Eve, a young woman with children had escaped from an abusive partner and was given emergency accommodation so Gill and her family stepped in to help buy electricity and gas coupons, she went to the shops and bought a few clothes toiletries and then a few presents for the children’s christmas presents to make sure that family had a Christmas Day.
The funding for Gill’s post ends later this year ( 2016 ) and there is little prospect of it being renewed but Gill has made some ripples in the sea of deprivation about us and has asked that her congregation and the wider community continue to do the same and continue with the good work.
Well Done Gill, you are a shining light in the community!
If you know a person, a group, charity or business who deserves some recognition then you have until the 18th November 2016 to nominate them for a Love Barrow Award 2017.
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Please note all information is from the nomination form (s) and some information may be incorrect at time of publishing.