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About HartlePower Community Trust
Every community and voluntary sector group in the town can benefit from free advice & assistance to set up, level up and connect to the vibrant and supportive network that is the Hartlepool Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector.
The team works on many projects around Hartlepool, click the link below to discover more about what we do!
The Team
Get to Know the Faces behind Hartlepower Community Trust
Juii Simons
VCS Co-lead Officer
When asked about my history with the voluntary sector in Hartlepool I start with saying I've been there, wore the T-shirt.
My progression has been as project beneficiary, volunteer, trainee, project worker and co-ordinator for some great town based organisations before moving into starting my own community business. I live in the town and still volunteer as a primary school governor and charity trustee.
Our role is helping to establish and support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups, small businesses and social enterprises with development support, funding advice and governance.
We have worked hard to connect organisations in Hartlepool to each other and to the public sectors to help improve relationships - explore more partnership working and understanding of each other and how we fit together with the complex picture of communities in our town.
My email is:
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Julian Penton
VCS Co-lead Officer
I’ve worked in and for the voluntary & community sector for much of my working life – beginning back in Leicester in the mid-1980’s – including as a self-employed facilitator, various roles within local government, as a Programme Manager for a regeneration partnership and now in the role of Development Officer with the charity HartlePower Community Trust.
A second strand to working life has been as a counsellor/therapist and teacher.
With my fellow Community Trust Development Officer, Juli Simons, our roles are to champion & support Hartlepool’s voluntary & community sector. This includes convening networking forums (e.g. the twice monthly Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Connector meetings), sharing information & opportunities, assisting the formation & development of new charities and social enterprises (e.g. Play Out Hartlepool), facilitating training for the VCSE (e.g. Funding Bid Writing and Governance) and encouraging collaboration.
My email is:
James Irvin
Project Support Officer
I have experience in the voluntary sector as a volunteer for 4 years, working to develop confidence in people with additional needs through online media.
My role involves identifying gaps around projects the rest of the team are involved in and assisting in whatever way possible. I also help promote Hartlepower Community Trust and other charitable organisations through social media alongside my colleague Ciara.
My email is:
The Team
Get to Know the Faces behind Hartlepower Community Trust
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Rachel Wanley
Victoria Ward Engagement Officer
I hope to work closely with people, services and community organisations attached to the Victoria Ward area to help strengthen community bonds.
I would like to meet with families in particular, to explore how they live their lives in the area, with a view to connecting them with others and to encourage new activities if something is wanted/needed.
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Dawn Robinson
Victoria Ward Engagement Officer
I hope to work closely with people, services and community organisations attached to the Victoria Ward area to help strengthen community bonds.
I would like to meet with older esidents in particular, to explore how they live their lives in the area, with a view to connecting them with others and to encourage new activities if something is wanted/needed.
Sonia Newhouse
Hartlepool Food Partnership Coordinator
I am keen to work with local partners to bring fresh, nutritious food to underserved areas.
I hope to create a full system approach to food across the Hartlepool network, linking growing, learning and cooking services in the town.
My email is:
Adam Guy
Hartlepool Food Partnership - Food Mapping and Procurement
Since starting in this role, I have mapping out independent food producers within a 100-mile radius of Hartlepool; the search is ongoing, with close to 300 entries so far. Their contact details as well as their distance from Hartlepool as the crow flies and by road have been catalogued.
I have started playing around with the information in terms of how best to present and share it, including mapping, tables and graphs.
My email is:
Our Board
We have a 6 member board with individuals backgrounds and experience spread across industry, academia, finance, infrastructure and the voluntary sector. We also have an advisory board.
Hartlepower is keen to welcome other individuals who would like to support our activities and direction. If you are interested in becoming a director or an advisor please contact us via email: info@hartlepower.co.uk
Peter Gowland
A former Planning Engineer with Laing Offshore and a Project Development Officer with VCS body Hartlepool Voluntary Development Agency. Peter knows everyone in Hartlepool, he helps build relationships and he is quick off the mark when it comes to new funding opportunities. He is also Chair of the Asylum Seekers and Refugees Group, a Trustee of the young person’s counselling charity Making a Difference and of the Friends of Carlton Camp (outdoor education centre). He is also a management board member of LARCH and was awarded an MBE in 2003 for services to the community.
Paul G Hewitson
I’m a 73 year old married man blessed with three children and five grandchildren. A keen gardener and sea swimmer, I also practised Aikido for 12 years until an injury stopped me.
My working career started as an apprentice fitter in 1967 at Hartlepool steelworks, when it had blast furnaces and made steel from raw materials. I worked in the merchant navy as an engineering officer on oil tankers sailing between the Gulf, USA and Europe. I then spent over 40 years as an engineer in the nuclear industry working for fourteen years on power station construction sites around the UK, then on operating sites. My roles varied from plant construction and commissioning engineer, head of department to plant area manager. I managed large teams of engineering staff, was responsible for multi-million-pound contracts, always with an overriding focus on nuclear safety. After retiring in 2012 I became self-employed and worked developing training modules for specialised nuclear plant operational activities and as a project manager for nuclear plant improvements. I retired from 51 years of full-time employment in 2018 and left the nuclear industry with skills and experience in a broad range of roles.
In 2015 the forthcoming closure of the Hartlepool power station and the subsequent loss of jobs made me consider the implications for the town. Together with colleagues we formed Hartlepower CIC to help support the community and job opportunities, the wide range of activities we undertook lead the the creation of Hartlepower Community Trust and I have worked part time as a director and trustee ever since.
Karen Martin
Karen Martin joined as Trustee in 2023. With over 25 years marketing experience for a range of national and international companies, Karen supports the team and board with her range of marketing, communications, and branding experience, helping to promote Hartlepower Community Trust to the wider Charity and Voluntary Community in Hartlepool.
She also volunteers as a trustee with local charity The Studio, having been formerly a trustee board member at Alice House Hospice.
She enjoys watching live music and spending time with family and friends.