Stockport Women's Centre

CALL US : 0161 355 4455

Our Mission

Stockport Women’s Centre provides support to improve the wellbeing, physical and mental health of women, enabling them to improve the life chances for themselves and their families.

Our Vision

Women in Stockport are strong and confident

Our Values

Respect
Empowerment
Diversity
Support
Safety

Our Behaviours

Everyone is entitled to feel safe
Everyone has a right to respect
We educate
We are accessible
We empower

We are caring
Everyone has the right to support
We embrace diversity
Women and children have the right to grow and fulfil their full potential

Our Aims

To improve the mental health and wellbeing of women, improving their ability to provide a better environment in which they and their families can flourish.
To specifically target Stockport priority areas addressing inequalities that exist and improve access to therapeutic services for women.
To build relationships with our service users and each other based on trust and respect.
To provide opportunities for women to help other women through volunteering, enabling them to learn and develop, and to give something back to the wider community.

To provide a safe, confidential, welcoming and nurturing environment for women.
To promote well-being, confidence and self-esteem amongst staff, volunteers and the women we support.
To offer a range of high quality, holistic, personalised services to support women.
To provide an accessible, non-judgemental and confidential service for Stockport women.
To be an innovative and financially sustainable service to continue to meet all of our aims.

To encourage, empower and support women to make informed choices to improve their quality of life.
To maximise opportunities for women in Stockport working in partnership with other organisations who are concerned with the health and support of women.
To consult with our stakeholders to ensure continual improvement of our services.
To continually monitor and evaluate our services to ensure that they meet the needs of women.

Meet Our Trustees

Our Executive Board of Trustees endorse the strategic and policy framework for the organisation, ensure financial viability and compliance with all legislative and statutory duties.

Kay Day

Chairperson

Kay Day joined the centre as a trustee in 2016. Kay retired from the University of Manchester in 2016 having worked there for over 30 years. She has a wide range of managerial and administrative experience and hopes that her organisational skills can be used in assisting the centre to run successfully.

Hilary Scott

Trustee

Hilary Scott joined the Centre as a trustee in 2009. With a marketing and planning background, Hilary has focused her efforts on devising and implementing a fundraising strategy for the Centre. Hilary commented, “seeing the work delivered at the Centre makes me more determined to raise more money so we can help more women.”

Heather Hoy

Trustee

Heather Hoy is a project and facilities manager for an electrical distribution company and has worked in the industry for the past 31 years in a number of roles. Her work includes facilities management and project works associated with offices and depots throughout the north west. Heather was appointed as a trustee in 2009.

Sue Harrison

Trustee

Sue joined the centre as a trustee in 2019. Sue trained as a primary school teacher and taught infants for 2 years before joining the civil service. She spent 34 years working with individuals and organisations in a number of roles and hopes that the knowledge and skills she gained can contribute to the running of the centre.

Lisa Dolling

Trustee

Lisa Dolling is a GP in Tameside where she is senior partner in a busy practice. She has a variety of special interests including women’s and mental health. She became a trustee in April 2018.

Claire Milner

Trustee

Claire Milner owns a retail business that she started 16 years ago. Her early career was in Human Resources with a number of multi-national organisations. She was a part time volunteer for 12 months in Nigeria with women’s groups to improve adult literacy and numeracy. Claire is a chartered member of the Institute of Personnel and Development

Jo Hancock

Trustee

Jo Hancock has worked in the Health and Social Care sector for over 25 years in a variety of roles. She is currently Head of Services for a charity working with people with learning disabilities, leading on coproduction and Supported Living. She has also been a trustee for a number of charities, and joined the centre as a Trustee in 2021. Jo’s special interests include mental health, HIV and empowering women.

Meet Our Ambassadors

Barbara Swann OBE

Ambassador

Barbara Swann OBE was one of the first members of Stockport Women’s Centre, starting as a trustee in 2001 going on to be chair in 2003. Barbara remained in this position until 2014. Having spent a lifetime in the NHS and as a Public Health practitioner, Barbara is passionate about women’s issues and brings a health perspective and strategic planning skills. Barbara’s long standing commitment to the Centre and her desire to make a difference is exceptional and much appreciated by the Trustees and team.

Clare Sorrell

Ambassador

Clare joined The Women’s Centre in 2007, when she became a trustee and helped to oversee its management and direction. Between 2014 and 2018, Clare served as the Centre’s Chairperson and stood down as both Chair and as a trustee when she became a mum. Clare also gave her time to the Centre in her professional capacity as a family law solicitor, providing a free legal advice service once a month for nearly 10years. More recently and whilst on maternity leave, Clare has assisted the Centre and its service users through the Coronavirus pandemic with legal support as a non-practising solicitor.