After 16 years with MacIntyre, Carole Hodgson, our Chesterfield Training and Development Officer, has decided it's time for a new adventure. She calls it retirement, but knowing Carole, we're fairly sure she'll be just as busy as ever.
If you've spent any time around our Chesterfield services, you'll know that Carole isn't someone who likes the spotlight. Ask her about her own achievements and she'll quickly change the subject to the people who draw on MacIntyre's support.
In many ways, that's exactly why she has become such an important part of the team.
Long before Everyone Everywhere became the name of one of MacIntyre's key approaches, Carole was helping people build relationships, share their talents and become valued members of their communities. She has always believed that everyone deserves the opportunity to contribute, and she's spent the last 16 years helping make that happen.
One of the best examples is Inspired 4 Training (i4t), a team of people supported by MacIntyre in Chesterfield that has been running for 18 years. Together, they've designed and delivered training for organisations including National Trust volunteers and Ashgate Hospice, covering topics such as bereavement, end-of-life care and Great Interactions.
Rather than simply talking about good communication, the team created their own interactive workshop, complete with role play and a lifesize game of Snakes and Ladders, helping delegates see communication from a completely different perspective. Along the way, they've built confidence, developed new skills and formed lasting connections throughout their community.
Those connections continue to grow.
Every Tuesday, people supported by MacIntyre run a welcoming café at Monkey Park. What began as a small idea has become a regular meeting place for local people, including members of Creative Revolution, a group of local artists who first discovered MacIntyre through the café and now visit every week.
Carole has also supported the development of Chesterfield Speak Up, where people have gained the confidence to express their views and speak up about what matters to them, while local litter-picking sessions have brought people together to make a visible difference to their neighbourhood.
Looking back, Carole doesn't see separate projects. She sees a community that has grown stronger because people have been given the chance to take part, contribute and be recognised for what they can do.
"The best bit," she reflects, "is seeing someone's confidence grow."
She's equally proud of watching a new colleague experience that moment when they realise what's possible, and of seeing people supported discover abilities they perhaps didn't know they had.
For Carole, it's always come back to one simple idea: everyone deserves a chance.
As for retirement? It already sounds as though she has plenty planned. She's recently taken up carriage driving at a local equestrian centre and is hoping to organise a carriage-driving experience for people supported by MacIntyre before she leaves.
That feels rather fitting.
Because after 16 years of opening doors for other people, Carole is setting off on a new journey of her own.
Thank you, Carole. Your kindness, determination and quiet belief in people have left a lasting mark on Chesterfield and on everyone fortunate enough to work alongside you.
