New trustee Helen Hamblen

Helen is the Founder and Chief Executive of Dementia Support Hampshire & IOW, a small independent charity that provides free emotional support, information and signposting for people living with dementia and their family carers.

Helen started her career in sales, later moving into marketing and public relations, working for major blue-chip organisations such as L'Oreal, Cadbury Schweppes and Emap.  She moved into the charity sector in 2019, and prior to setting up a dementia support charity - a cause which is very close to her heart and of which she has lived experience through caring for her father - she worked in various roles for Cancer Research UK, Alzheimer's Society, Mountbatten Hampshire and Wessex Cancer Trust.

Through her work in the charity sector, Helen understands the importance of social connectedness to improve wellbeing and quality of life for anybody at any age, especially those in later life, and that's why she finds the work of Barchester's Charitable Foundation so important.

Helen is a Trustee at Open Sight Hampshire and by becoming a Barchester Charitable Foundation Trustee, Helen is looking forward to offering her expertise to enable more people to engage in their local communities in activities of their choice, as well as continuing to extend her existing skills.   

Simon McCall, Chairperson of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation and Barchester’s Commercial Director comments:  “We are delighted to welcome Helen onto the Barchester Foundation board. We are excited to have her join us and we are certain that her experience and expertise working in the charity sector will be hugely beneficial in helping us shape the Foundation’s future.”