LifeLine: Sparking Whole Community Change

Sincerity, Passion, Accountability, Respect and Know-how.

Thank you for your interest in LifeLine.
LifeLine is now one of the largest Voluntary and Community Sector training providers in East London. It has grown from a very small organisation in 2000 (with two part time staff) to now being a significant community based organisation with over 140 staff and a turnover of £4.2 million in 2006/2007.

In the late 1990's a group of volunteers identified gaps in accessible provision on the borders of Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham. They began providing English classes for isolated and marginalised women who were parents they knew from local Primary Schools, and After Schools Clubs for young people and peer led youth activities. So LifeLine Community Projects began and in 2000 received its first grant of £20,000 from the church. Since then LifeLine has grown rapidly, with projects operating across East and South London and national network based activities.

The ongoing challenge is to ensure LifeLine's services continue to match the needs of local communities whilst being tuned into the related national and political issues. The government continues to emphasise the importance of the Third Sector in the delivery of public services and we want to ensure LifeLine as a Third Sector organisation is leading the way in providing innovative and responsive programmes which genuinely address issues for some of the most isolated and vulnerable people in our local communities.


Meet some of our staff, and find out what sparks them about working for LifeLine:

Grant Dixon, Head of LifeLine Institute
"The thing that sparks me about my job is igniting possibilities for young people who believe they have none."

Grant is an experienced teacher who taught History and Religious Education for six years in a large inner-city secondary school, before rising to become Head of RE for sixteen years in a multicultural comprehensive. In 2005 Grant became Head of the LifeLine Institute at its inception.
Contact Grant on grantdixon@lifelineprojects.co.uk

Sue Griffin, Quality Co-ordinator
"I've been privileged to watch the expansion of LifeLine and see huge sections of our community being impacted by a fantastically supportive and enthusiastic staff team, for whom excellence is second nature!"

Before joining LifeLine Sue was a Geography teacher for 19 years in London secondary schools. Sue became Basic Skills and ESOL Tutor at LifeLine 2003, including lecturing at Redbridge College from 2003-2004. Her role has developed and she is now the Quality Co-ordinator.
Contact her on suegriffin@lifelineprojects.co.uk

Avril McIntyre CEO LifeLine
"The thing that sparks me is when I meet people in the centres and they talk to me about how LifeLine has affected their life."

Avril has been the Chief Executive of LifeLine since its inception over 7 years ago and during this time has developed the wide-ranging suite of services that we now offer. Under Avril's direction, LifeLine has grown from a small grassroots provider in 2000 with a turnover of £20,000 to a large and dynamic organisation today with a £4.4 million turnover and over 150 staff.
Contact Avril on avrilmcintyre@lifelineprojects.co.uk

Ken Coello, Director of Strategy

Ken Coello is the Director of Strategy responsible for positioning LifeLine, advising the Senior Management Team on the external environment and ensuring that the organisation celebrates success and follows best practice. Ken has held a wide variety of senior positions in the public, private and voluntary sectors including Chairing the London East Learning and Skills Council and the London Skills Commission. He is a governor of the Hackney Community College and a board member of East Foundation.
Contact Ken on kencoello@lifelineprojects.co.uk

Kay Treacy, Contract Manager
"I love empowering people to become the person they want to be so they achieve their goals.!"

Kay joined us a year ago. She is presently the Contract Manager for the Dagenham Job Shop and Goodmayes centre. Since working at Lifeline her team have engaged with over 800 beneficiaries and through either training, upskilling, or employability advice have managed to get over 300 people into employment.
You can contact her on kaytreacy@lifelineprojects.co.uk

Richard Wright, Head of Children and Youth Services
"The thing that sparks me is seeing children and young people overcoming difficulties and barriers to become leaders in their communities."

As Head of Children and Youth Services, Richard has a wealth of experience teaching and working with children and young people on projects across East London. Richard has been in his current role at LifeLine since April 2005, and manages the teams of workers delivering LifeLine's after school clubs, workshops and projects. He is also involved in delivering training in youth engagement across the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the FSA funded Young People and Money Training.
Richard can be contacted on richardwright@lifelineprojects.co.uk