LOROS Ambassadors

Tony is a highly valued member of LOROS and is keen to develop links for us.

Tony has lived in Leicestershire since 1968. His family has had a fashion retail business and they still run a property management business.

Tony believes everybody should contribute to make a better community for all and over the years he has been involved in many community projects which have given him enormous pleasure. He has enjoyed many different hobbies; he played cricket for a well known team, wrote short stories and plays, swims regularly, reads and speaks four different languages and has served as the Chairman of the Landlord Association since 1998.

He works purely in a voluntary capacity and his role is to represent LOROS in the community and with businesses.

We asked Amarjit to become an Ambassador for LOROS in recognition of his valuable contribution to our work with 2,500 terminally ill patients and their families.

Imogen is a solicitor and Director at Cartwright King Solicitors who first became aware of the work that LOROS undertakes when her friend Claire Webber was a patient there in 2008. After admitting "dreading" visiting Claire at the Hospice she was immediately impressed with its service, staff and the overall positive atmosphere, which really surprised her.

Imogen said: "When I am asked to describe LOROS, I always say that if you are unfortunate enough to have to visit a loved one in the Hospice, you become fortunate enough to learn what an impressive place LOROS is."

Imogen had raised funds for charity with Claire before she died and after her death staged her first event for LOROS with Claire's husband. Since then she has teamed up with fellow Ambassador Charlotte Thompson and together they organise the annual LOROS Fashion Show. Their fifth show, in 2015, took place at the Athena in Leicester and sold more than 700 tickets.

Following National Service, Derick moved to a career in textiles, firstly with J&P Coats thread manufacturers and then with the fabrics division of Courtaulds.

He was predominantly an expatriate manager in Austria, Turkey, Sudan, Mexico, South Africa, Finland, Hong Kong and the Far East.

In 1990, he was found to have cancer and underwent two serious operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

When he finally retired in 1997 and being grateful to move into remission, he volunteered to drive LOROS patients. He finds the regular contact with patients, staff, carers and other drivers and fundraising for LOROS very rewarding.

Rebecca was appointed as an Ambassador, having had a lot of direct experience with LOROS.

Rebecca's first contact with LOROS was in 1992, when her Grandma was cared for in the Hospice, and then in 2005 with her Grandad. More recently, her Dad, Steve, an inpatient at LOROS, passed away in April 2016.

She has been a volunteer since 2006, and during her visits to the Hospice to visit her Dad, she realised she wanted to do more for the charity and became a volunteer lottery collector. She has been so impressed by the care LOROS provide, not only to the patients but also to their families, she wanted to give something back.

Rebecca and her family hold annual fundraising events for LOROS, along with providing gift bags for those spending Christmas in LOROS.

Rebecca is a self-employed Sign Language Interpreter, working in Leicestershire and the surrounding areas. She continues to volunteer in the Biggin Street shop, and as a lottery collector, plus she has recently become a “Speaking Out” volunteer. She is passionate about raising the profile of LOROS and is honoured to be an Ambassador.

Nicki was already a regular LOROS donor when she was accepted to spend some time with the Fundraising Team in 2001 on ‘work experience’ as part of a course on working for charities.

Since then she has not been able to extricate herself from the work of the Fundraising Department, but she thoroughly enjoys the wide range of activities and contacts that this involves.

Nicki has undertaken several long distance walking challenges in aid of LOROS – ‘Not the Inca Trail’ in Peru, the 192 mile Coast to Coast Walk, Hadrian’s Wall, the West Highland Way and the Cleveland Way, raising several hundred pounds each time. She has also run the Leicester Half Marathon and assisted with packing the runners’ goody bags the day before the race.

Nicki has also helped out frequently at a range of annual fundraising events – the Walk on the Wildside, the Twilight Walk, the Ladies’ Luncheon and One Big Bike Ride to name but a few – and is also a regular member of the bag packing teams at M&S and Morrison’s. For a number of years she helped to organise the LOROS Christmas concert in Leicester Cathedral.

Nicki left full time employment in education at the end of 2000 and has been delighted to be able to benefit from the flexibility that freelance work allows in order to spend time with LOROS staff and volunteers on a variety of projects.

She is flattered to have been invited to become a LOROS ambassador and excited about carrying out the role.

Kishor left school at the age of 16 to start his career as an engineering apprentice.

He then went into the telecommunication industry by joining the General Post Office (GPO). At the age of 20 he was a 'youth in training’, installing small switchboards and lines into customer premises.

Kishor started work with BT in 1978. Part of his current job is to promote IT and broadband to local businesses, schools, colleges and local community groups. He has been nominated for a number of awards from BT and he was also nominated by BT to attend the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. He has been involved in various charity fundraising opportunities over the last 30 years and those charities include LOROS and Childline (supported by BT).

Kishor has also been involved with the National Space Centre, where he sat on the Committee of the Kalapana Chawala Foundation, which aims to raise the awareness of science and education for young people and under-privileged community groups. Through this work he made a number of high profile contacts, including the High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Kamlesh Sharma, who was invited to the National Space Centre to see the work being carried out in the name of the Indian Astronaut, Kalpana Chawala. After visiting, the High Commissioner sent two students from universities in the UK to visit the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bangalore. The visit took place in October 2007 and Kishor and the students were taken to see the Indian Space Research program, satellite tracking division and satellite launch pad in Sri Hari Kota.

Kishor says: "It is a pleasure and a honour to be invited to become an Ambassador for LOROS."

Born in India, Ishvar moved to Leicester in 1968. Having worked the majority of his life as an Aerospace Engineer, he also enjoyed playing cricket in his spare time. He was one of the founder members of Gujarat Cricket Club. He was also General Secretary and President of the national charity Shree SarvodayaSamaj. He also took on the role of Joint Secretary for The Gujarat Hindu Association which is an umbrella organisation supporting over 60 community-based organisations. Having a major interest in developing and supporting communities, he has always tried his utmost to make a significant contribution.

He began his involvement with LOROS in 2004 when he and his wife Kamla took part in the LOROS annual charity walk. Unfortunately, Kamla fell ill later that year and lost her struggle to bowel cancer in 2005. During her illness, she spent some time at the LOROS Hospice. The care and attention she received were exemplary and this had a long-lasting effect on both Ishvar and the whole family. Ishvar continued to take part in the annual walk, raising monies for the charity. In 2012, he began volunteering for LOROS raising awareness of their work and their profile amongst the diverse communities of Leicester.

Ishvar continues to enjoy his work for LOROS and feels very fortunate to be involved in helping the organisation reach out to all. He feels very honoured to act as an ambassador for LOROS and thanks the organisation for giving him the opportunity to make a real difference within the community.

Liz was appointed a LOROS Ambassador in April 2009. When she was 16 years old her family moved to Quorn. Liz qualified as a teacher from the Yorkshire Training College and at the age of 21 moved to London and taught at an inner London comprehensive school for almost 18 years. She returned to Leicestershire (Coleorton) when her late husband moved his business to Coalville in 1987.

In 1989, Liz was part of a group who formed a support group for LOROS after the death of her mother, Olive Deerning earlier that year.

Liz has been both Governor and Chair of Governors for the local primary school in Coleorton, helping them raise funds and achieve a new annexe.

Liz has, in all but name, served as an Ambassador for LOROS since 1989 and is delighted to continue her marvellous support of LOROS and is grateful to the Coleorton Support Group and her family for all their support of her magnificent fundraising efforts.

Charlotte is a mother of four from Leicestershire. She is a passionate runner and started marathon running in 2007.

After a visit to LOROS, she was impressed with the services we provided and felt inspired to 'run for a reason', raise funds for LOROS and involve as many people as possible to raise awareness of the charity.

She has run the Leicester and London Marathon four times and in 2009 completed a five-marathons-in-five-days challenge. Through this, she built up a large network of highly supportive friends and family who all now support LOROS. She firmly believes we should all give back to our community; fundraising for LOROS has introduced her to some amazing people, and she's dedicated to continuing her support and hopes she can "make a difference".

In August 2011, she joined Dave Heeley, an inspirational blind runner, on a running and cycling challenge from Lands End to John O`Groats. She guided him for four days of his epic journey, covering 58 miles per day. The challenge involved different celebrities guiding him and a TV crew filming a documentary. This was an amazing opportunity to raise awareness of LOROS. Charlotte is dedicated to raising awareness of LOROS in her community and is honoured to be an Ambassador.

Andy is presently the Joint Managing Director of Mountney Ltd, a motor accessory distribution company. Andy started working in the motor industry when he left school at the age of 16, starting on the shop floor and steadily working his way up to his current position.

Andy’s involvement with LOROS began in 2008 when he moved back, after an absence of twenty three years, to the village of Great Glen. As a child Andy had personally taken part in the annual wheelbarrow race. Moving back to the village rekindled his memories of what being part of a friendly community was all about.

Andy chose to fundraise for LOROS as this was the preferred charity of many of the village residents he had spoken to.

The ‘Great Glen Wheelbarrow Race’ is now in its seventh year and firmly fixed on both the village and the LOROS calendar. Year on year the number of visitors and attractions has increased due mainly to Andy’s ongoing commitment to make each year “bigger and better”.

Andy’s work for LOROS does not stop with his own event; he is a regular volunteer and speaker at many events across Leicestershire, bringing his family with him.

Andy said: "From my first time of visiting the Hospice I was so impressed with the facilities and the high standard and different types of care being provided. All the people who are employed and volunteer at the Hospice do an amazing job and want to make a difference to the lives of patients and their families".

Monica is a broadcast journalist at BBC Radio Leicester. Monica has been a well-known 'voice' for over 30 years, however she says it’s still a novelty to meet people who have heard her on air, but have no idea what she looks like!

Monica’s association with LOROS began when she joined Liz Singleton’s team at the Lottery office. A great number of organisations, including luncheon clubs, Women’s Institutes and church groups, were keen to invite her to be a guest speaker on behalf of LOROS, and to promote Lottery memberships and scratch-cards! On all of those occasions, Monica was deeply touched by the positive stories she heard.

"So many people have seen and experienced – through friends and family members - the dedicated care and support provided by LOROS, and the high regard and esteem local people have for their hospice is overwhelming."

For the last two years, Monica and her colleagues at APPLAUSE (a not-for-profit team dedicated to staging musical events for local charities) have organised the performers for the LOROS Cathedral Carols and it was at the end of this year’s event that Monica learned she was going to be invited to become a LOROS Ambassador: "It’s fair to say I was speechless – which is a pretty rare event for someone in my line of work! I’m determined to live up to the honour of being an Ambassador and am looking forward to doing all that I can to raise both awareness and funds for such a caring local charity."