Seafarers charity bolsters ranks with two new trustees

Natasha Barley, CEO of the Society, said: “The Sailors’ Children’s Society is going from strength to strength but like all charities we need to keep moving forward with new people and new ideas. We work nationally to support disadvantaged children from the merchant navy, Royal Navy, the offshore wind industry, fishing fleets and inland waterways but Hull is our historic home and I am delighted that we have been able to recruit two people from the local community who know what the city and its people are about.”

The Society acts as a lifeline for the children of families in crisis experiencing bereavement, family breakdown or diagnosis of a life limiting or terminal illness and all the families it works with are experiencing financial hardship.

Ms Kioko-Gilligan, who is a Deputy Lieutenant of the East Riding, was a beneficiary of the Society’s services when her father, a merchant seaman, passed away when she was just three.

She said: “I had a little sister and times were hard, especially as we reached school age and mum couldn’t afford uniforms. She was a nurse in training and went to social services for help but they said she earned slightly too much so we couldn’t have any money. Mum was heartbroken and didn’t know what to do but her matron at work suggested she talk to the Society.

“My dad’s death wasn’t maritime related but they still helped us with the uniform, including for my sister when she reached school age, and we were also invited to go on their annual days out. We have some wonderful memories from those and from the annual fete in their grounds on Cottingham Road.”