Personnel | Hope in the Community

HitC Staff

Board of Trustees

Peter Southcombe - Director

Peter is an ordained minister and until recently was Regeneration Director for the United Reformed Church Southern Synod. He took up the appointment in 2002 and successfully secured funding for a number of churches and community groups. For the last 10 years he has been developing mission enabling in the South East and has written a number of training courses for mission strategy.

He established an award winning social enterprise helping unemployed people into work through recycling projects and has gained experience in the EU funding arena. He is a creative entrepreneur who seeks to find imaginative ways forward for faith and community engagement.

In September 2011 he took up the post of Minister of Immanuel Church, Southbourne and Evangelism Enabler for the South West Pastoral Area of Wessex.

Mike Southcombe

Mike was with George Wimpey for 38 years in the construction development business. He took early retirement and has been involved working with various churches and charities using his skills ever since. He also is involved in projects in Eastern Europe and West and East Africa. He is also Chairman of Family Foundation Trust which runs a Christian Conference centre in West Sussex and also runs Children Worldwide.

Councillor David Smith

David is a married man who has lived in Winton for the past 25 years. Married to Sue they have three grown up children Anwar, Adam and Rebecca. David is currently a local Councillor who has represented the town centre for the past 25 years and is currently the Planning and Environment portfolio holder on the Cabinet. He has a keen interest in helping in the community and has played a strong supporting role in starting the Cycling Without Age project which is part of Hope in the Community.

Hope in the Community Bournemouth and Poole Project

Tess Champion - Coordinator for HitC Bournemouth

Tess has over eleven years experience of working with older people both in their own homes and in hospital settings. For the last 8 years she has worked as an Assistant Care Manager for Social Services in a Community Mental Health Team for Older People, assessing the needs of older people and providing them with services if eligible or signposting them to other services if not. Within this role, Tess has continually recognised the potential for the church to make a difference to the wellbeing of older people in the community which was why she felt inspired to be a part of this project.

Tess first came to Bournemouth as a student fifteen years ago and has been an active member of a local church ever since, regularly leading worship there. She attends with her husband and two young children.

Emily Ward – Administrator

Since leaving university in Wales studying geography, Emily has been in Christian ministries for over 5 years. As well as being the administrator for the project in Bournemouth and Poole she is the Children’s and Youth Director at Immanuel Church, Southbourne. She thoroughly enjoys working with people and building relationships with all ages, trying to make a positive influence in their lives. Since moving down to Bournemouth she has notice the overwhelming number of people in the area who are lonely and isolated. By being involved with lunch clubs that the church runs, she has seen that there are ways to help lonely individuals have the chance to get out and meet other people. She is excited to see how the project will develop and how the churches can work together to help and support these people.

Emily is married to Chris who is studying Applied Theology at Moorlands Collage, they both actively and regularly attend Immanuel Church in Southbourne.