Loaves of Love

Isabelle moved to the south coast nearly 10 years ago out of a wish to lead a quieter, healthier
and more fulfilling life.

She achieved that by starting a small business restoring/recycling furniture with her partner,
and by getting involved in doing some voluntary work with various charities, as well as raising
funds for local projects.

Her wish to help the local community and love of baking naturally lead, during lockdown,
to the creation of Loaves of Love.

Mark moved to Portsmouth 20+ years ago with his wife Kate and their then young family and they have lived here ever since. He’s worked in Graphic Design, also for this time, largely as a freelancer. 

Mark also works with several other charities both on websites and graphic design. More recently
he has started a regular collection of surplus food from local stores to redistribute it locally using
the Olio app.

Mark actively supports community lead projects that enable people and build communities. 

Sue has worked in different international environments and has always enjoyed working with people from different countries. Since retiring she has been an active campaigner for the NHS and more recently for Adult Social Care. She has volunteered for a number of refugee charities and finds
Loaves of Love a wonderful escape from the often harrowing experiences of most refugees and asylum-seekers.

“It is such a joy to be able to share in the happiness generated by wonderful people baking together with other women. It is so very therapeutic, a real escape for them.”

Sophie works as a recipe development chef and is a self taught baker and cake decorator.

Volunteering at Loaves of Love has given her the opportunity to share baking know-how whilst developing her organisational and teaching skills.

She hopes that these workshops will encourage confidence, build self esteem and foster a sense
of belonging for everyone who participates.

Amanda is a Pompey girl, raised in the city since she was 10 who is passionate about the city she lives and works in. She was a teacher for 24 years, working in a number of Primary schools in Portsmouth. During her career she was a teacher, coach and mentor, senior leader, and school governor in junior, primary and SEND schools.

Throughout Amanda’s teaching career she has been an activist in the National Union of Teachers and National Education Union where she took on a variety of roles at local, regional and national level. In 2019 – 2020 she was the first President of the National Education Union.

In September 2021 she took up a senior position within the National Association of Headteachers.

Amanda became involved in Loaves of Love at the start as the trustee. In addition to this she is a trustee of a number of women and education themed charities, and Portsmouth based charities.

Sandra was brought up in Ireland, She left after college and moved to Guildford. Her first job was working in a private hospital. She then started working for the NHS, social care services and then moved on to pubs and private catering for schools.
Sandra spent many years working in the hospitality trade and is currently in the business and industry sector. Her hobbies are walking, talking, and she love making people laugh from their belly (real good belly laugh speaks a thousand words).

Paul has done various jobs including mechanic, AA patrol, taxi driver, DJ, furniture delivery, typewriter engineer, computer engineer, and programmer. He has always liked cooking and has baked bread for about 30 years. His other hobbies include knitting, crochet, weaving, dyeing and sewing and he has been learning to play the ukulele since 2020. Paul joined Loaves of Love to do things like setting up the class and washing up, but soon joined the chefs team, creating recipes and leading classes.

Kerry is a retired social worker. She enjoys meeting people and since returning to Portsmouth 6 years ago, she has been looking to become more involved with the local community. Kerry believes that everyone should feel welcome and valued in the community; she is keen to help women seeking asylum or fleeing domestic violence to overcome their isolation through the aims and undertakings
of Loaves of Love.  As a volunteer, Kerry helps set up the class, supports the chefs and tidies away afterwards whilst ensuring that everyone feels comfortable and included.

Lola served for many years as a Community Manager and Human Resources Administrator, where she honed her skills in community engagement and delivered excellent administrative support.

After moving to Portsmouth in 2022, she pursued an MSc in International Business and Management at the University of Portsmouth, gaining strategic insights and a global perspective that now guide her work in the nonprofit sector.

In 2024, she joined Loaves of Love as a volunteer Secretary, where she applies her knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to support the charity’s administrative and secretarial functions.