Wendy Hocking has spent a good portion of her career working help people struggling with homelessness and related challenges. It’s work that she is passionate about.

However, in April she took on a new job that she says “makes me tick, tick, tick inside, I could do this all the time.” That job is as the unpaid chair of KleefstraSyndrome.org based in the United Kingdom.

Wendy’s first grandchild, William, was diagnosed with Kleefstra Syndrome just after his first birthday in 2014. Earlier this year, while surfing KleefstraSyndrome.org for updates she saw that its founders, Chris and Fiona Heslehurst, were stepping back from their chair and trustee roles to concentrate more on their family 12 years after creating the organization and helping countless families.

“I’ve managed charities throughout my career, so I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if I could help families and people, like William, who have difficulties and special educational needs who need extra support. I thought it would be a good thing, so I couldn’t really say no, and luckily they wanted me, which is nice.” 

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