Episode 50: Stacey Cordery

<p>While I was preparing for my Children in Need 24 hour Danceathon, I was lucky enough to visit Bonny Downs community centre in Newham, East London which receives some funding from Children in Need to help local children attend their 3 week summer&nbsp;camp.&nbsp;I met some amazing people there and one of them was the powerhouse that is Stacey Cordery, a woman so full of energy, positivity&nbsp;and kindness that you can't help but have some of it rub off on you.&nbsp;So I thought, who better to speak to, for the last in this series of Spinning Plates?</p><br><p>Stacey is a mum of two who volunteered at Bonny Downs well before she was a mum, then used it herself&nbsp;while on maternity leave with&nbsp;her second baby, before eventually becoming one of the directors there, looking after children and families who use the centre.</p><br><p>She loves the work she does there and the wide range of people she works with.&nbsp;We talked&nbsp;about&nbsp;her journey from leaving school as soon&nbsp;as&nbsp;she&nbsp;could to avoid exams, and working with diamonds in Hatton Garden in London, before&nbsp;motherhood and Bonny Downs became the bedrock of her life. We discussed how&nbsp;to help people while avoiding 'poverty&nbsp;porn', we touched on some of the&nbsp;misconceptions people have about refugees and immigrants, and we talked about the problem&nbsp;of bringing up your family in a country where you are not officially allowed to work.&nbsp;In amongst all of this serious talk though, runs Stacey's joyful nature and her love of a cup of tea and&nbsp;a chat.</p><br><p>Donate to Sophie's 24 hour kitchen disco here: https://donate.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/kitchendisco</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>