by Lorraine Gibson.

After 15 years of dedication, the inspiring and compassionate project manager of Ferndown’s Bus Stop Club charity, that sits behind Hope Church on Heatherlands Estate, Susan Sutherland, is retiring to seek pastures new.

Over the past year, Susan has successfully completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Chaplaincy and aims to employ her skills in this new area of ministry.
Motivated by her Christian faith, a wish to care and using a wide range of relevant life skills, she has worked tirelessly for the Ferndown community and throughout East Dorset.
Trained as a mental health first aid trainer, a CAP money coach and the originator of small group courses and one-to-one support sessions aimed at dealing with historical abuse and trauma, Susan has helped many people to deal with the past, improve their lives in the present day and have hope for the future.
As she moves on, the Bus Stop Club charity will close at the end of the year.

However, all is not lost, as the East Dorset CAP Debt Centre has transferred from the charity to being the responsibility of its partner, Hope Church, Ferndown, so under the auspices of Pam Ansell and administrator Traceyanne Lambert, its debt coach activities can continue to free people with unmanageable finances from debt.
The charity’s red building, aka the Turbary Resource Centre, will transfer to the church and the Store Cupboard which provides needy families with donations of food, toiletries and household items from church blessing bins and the public donation boxes at Sainsbury’s and Lidl will continue under church management.
Susan will be greatly missed by the people of Ferndown, especially those on the Heatherlands Estate whose lives she has touched and they and her friends wish her well in her new ventures.