Three new charity patrons

25 May 2017

We are excited to announce that three leading names in the Suffolk business community have joined Inspire as business patrons to help promote our vital work with local young people.

Property developer John Howard; MD of Source One, Pat Lewis and Managing Director at the TA Hotel Collection, Peter Osborne will act as advocates for Inspire supporting our work motivating young people through personal development programmes and on to positive next steps in their lives.

They join our current patrons who include former Ipswich Town Football Club Captain, Matt Holland; TalkSport’s Georgie Bingham; former British Olympian athlete Bill Tancred MBE and David Ward OBE.

As our charity continues to ambitiously grow and extend our reach so that even more young people can benefit, our Business Patrons will provide invaluable links to the Suffolk Business community helping increase work experience opportunities, taster sessions with many of the county’s business sectors and one-to-one mentoring advice.

JOHN HOWARD

John Howard is a property business leader with over nearly 4-decades of experience in the industry.  At the age of 25, John also became one of the youngest Directors of a football league club when joining Cambridge United FC where he stayed for 18 years.  It was at Cambridge Untied where John first became passionate about helping young people to get the right start in life when he set up the Football in the Community initiative.

Delighted to be asked to be part of our charity, John said: “When I was invited to become patron of Inspire I didn’t hesitate to accept.  I have seen first-hand that such initiatives really can make a difference. This opportunity will allow me to continue to support a charity that I have always been so proud to be part of, by helping to make a positive impact on those young people who need it the most.”

PAT LEWIS

Inspire is pleased to have the support of office design and refurbishment business Source One Consulting and individually Pat Lewis. As someone who has faced personal and professional challenges and overcome them to build a hugely successful business, Pat is extremely well placed with the charity to share his experiences and contacts to help build confidence, resilience and aspiration among those Inspire work with.

Pat Lewis, Managing Director of Source One Consulting, comments “We are proud to be supporting the team at Inspire, in their great work helping young people in our local community. Helping young people has been a theme for much of our community work and Inspire are a leading light in what they are achieving every day. We were happy to donate office furniture and furnishings to help refurbish their classroom and meeting rooms and look forward to working with Inspire over the coming years.”

PETER OSBORNE

TA Hotel Collection is a group of award winning, luxury hotels and leisure businesses located across the county of Suffolk. Managing Director, Peter Osborne will bring a wealth of experience to the charity including his hospitality and catering expertise, as well as his interest in supporting local young people with their career progression.

Looking forward to taking up the role, Peter Osborne said “I am delighted with the opportunity to join Inspire’s hard working team and help make a difference in our local community. We already have plans to expand our level of commitment to this very important charity over the coming months”.

 

Welcoming the patrons on-board Terry Baxter, Chief Executive of Inspire, said

“We are extremely pleased to have Pat, Peter and John join us as Business Patrons of our charity. They are fantastic assets to the wider Suffolk Business Community and we are certain that they will use their influence, expertise and energy to help promote our fundamental work with young people.”

Feeling inspired? Find out how you can support our charity here.