Hi, my name is Gary Morgan, and I am the Chair of Scarf. I have been Chair since 2019 but have been involved with Scarf for over 10 years as our son Toby has attended many clubs and activities during this time. I am married to Debbie, who is the Scarf Secretary. My working career has mainly been in Human Resources having worked in several family-owned and corporate companies for 30 years. In 2019 I took a sideways step in HR to work for the Minstead Trust, a learning disabilities charity based in the forest. This role has proved to be a great asset to in my role of Chair particularly in our formulation of policies and guidance specifically for those with additional needs. In November 2021 I decided to take early retirement but having enjoyed my time with Minstead, I returned to them in March 2022 on a part-time basis working at Furzey Gardens. The Scarf committee is parent led and we are always looking for parents who may have a little additional time to spare or who can help with our fundraising efforts. If you are interested in supporting us, please contact me direct at [email protected].

Hi I’m Paula and I am really proud to be part of Scarf. I am vice-chair and a trustee of this incredible charity. I have three daughters with a range of additional needs including Down’s syndrome, Autism and anxiety. Scarf has been a lifeline to me and my family over many years. I am passionate about supporting families of young people with additional needs and enabling young people to try new things, make friends and have fun!

Hi my name is Debbie Morgan and I am the Secretary for Scarf. I am married to Gary, the Chair for Scarf. We have a 19 year old son, Toby, who has Down's Syndrome and a 25 year old daughter, Molly. We moved from Egham in Surrey to New Milton 21 years ago and have been Scarf members for over 10 years. As well as being Scarf's Secretary, I also volunteer every week in my local Scope disability charity shop. The rest of my time is mostly taken up driving Toby to wherever he needs to go including Totton College, day service and Scarf activities. I love being involved with Scarf, working at Scope, being Toby's chauffeur and singing partner whilst on our various journeys.

My name is Geoff Walker and I joined the committee as treasurer in January 2023. I qualified as an accountant in 1984 with an interesting and varied career working for UK and US listed companies as well as setting up my own practice in the 90’s followed by a partnership in a large building services business locally. I retired from my full time career in 2016. I have lived in the New Forest for over 40 years and it is a pleasure to be able to support such a worthy charity helping to ‘make a difference’ to the members and their children.

My name is Nicola Timms and I am a mum to 2 boys aged 15 & 16 both of whom have additional needs. I have lived in the New Forest for the last 20 years and have found it an excellent place to bring up my family alongside my husband. I currently work full time as a Learning Support Assistant in a Resourced Provision unit within an Infant school. In my previous life, pre-children, I was a Project coordinator/Manager for a Global Networking IT company. My family has been a member of SCARF for many years & I am proud to be part of such an amazing charity, which I regard as my 2nd family.

My name is Kate, I am a member of the Scarf committee and have been for a few years now. My daughter Sophie is accessing the regular activities and really enjoys the social interaction with her friends. We have been with Scarf for over 10 years. Currently I am a student studying English and creative writing. I have written my 1st novel but have yet to publish it, and currently writing the 2nd book. I especially enjoy getting involved with the fundraising side of things and other activities such as the Christmas tree festival and the parent and carer groups. Looking forward to more exciting things with Scarf.

My name is Linda Cohu. I have been involved with Scarf for over 8 years now since we moved to the New Forest. I am a Mum of three children aged 16, 14 and 11 and both my youngest and eldest are Autistic and have other additional needs including Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. My background is 12 years working as an Occupational Therapist – 2 with adults with physical disabilities assessing for aids and adaptations, and specialising in paediatrics for 10 of those years. Scarf has been a lifeline for us as a family as our youngest has been unable to successfully consistently access mainstream activities and clubs. We have been able to do activities together as a whole family and it means I no longer dread the school holidays as I can book activities that are great fun, get us out and about and help us meet other families in a similar situation and give us that structure we all need. I joined the Committee last year and am really enjoying it. I am also involved with helping facilitate more parent support group meetings and events to give us all those vital connections and support.