Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of a new trustee to its board; Shannon Cullen, who brings a wealth of experience from her current work in Barchester’s Queens Manor Care Home in Edinburgh, and her voluntary work in the community.
Established in 2000, the aim of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is to help older people and adults living with a disability or mental health problems in local communities across the country. The charity provides grants to improve mobility and quality of life, and each year the Foundation distributes over £150,000 to individuals, small community groups and charities across England, Scotland and Wales.
Shannon joined Barchester Healthcare in May 2021 as Head of Lifestyle and Enrichment at Queens Manor and was quickly promoted to her current role of Senior Head of Lifestyle & Enrichment in August 2021.
During Shannon’s time at Queens Manor, she has supported and led local community initiatives and been at the forefront of a number of projects aimed at enhancing community engagement within the Edinburgh area, which benefit both the residents and staff at Queens Manor and the wider community. One of the most recent projects involved setting up the ‘Queens Manor Emergency Services Hub’ – the home identified a lack of out of hours facilities for the emergency services and has offered the use of the Queens Manor café as a base, providing a safe, warm and welcoming environment for team members to rest, grab a coffee, a bite to eat and refuel both physical and mentally.
Shannon comments: “I have always had a strong interest in helping others. From a young age, I volunteered at the local primary school, I was a member of my town’s Christmas campaign, then I was on my high school’s volunteering board before going on to represent the school in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YTP).
“As I have always helped and volunteered in my local area, I believe that being part of the Barchester Charitable Foundation as a Trustee is a great next step for me, not only will I be helping people locally – I will also be assisting in a larger geographical area and truly helping enrich the lives of those in need.”
Dr Pete Calveley, Chairman of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation adds: “We are delighted to welcome Shannon onto the Barchester Foundation board. We are excited to work with her and we are certain that her experience within social care and the community will be extremely beneficial.”
