Faces behind the Foundation: The SYFAB team
Peter Foyle, Karen Walke, Lorna Lewis and Andy Kershaw make up our South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau team.
Best known locally as SYFAB, the quartet supports voluntary, community and charitable groups across the region with funding advice, information and training. They play a vital role helping these organisations to run the projects and activities which are important to their communities.
Since 2013, SYFAB has been a part of South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation.
You can find out more about the work of SYFAB here.
Karen Walke, Joint-head of SYFAB
Karen was born and brought up in Horsforth, near Leeds. She met her husband in Sheffield in the early 80s and made her home in the city and considers herself a ‘Sheffielder’.
She lives in the south of the City with her husband. She has two grandkids and a ‘granddog’!
Karen provides one-to-one support for Sheffield groups, funded by Sheffield City Council.
This involves helping organisations with funding criteria and reviewing draft applications, prioritising groups with no paid staff and who are led by the communities they support.
I started with the Community Foundation in 2001 as Grants Officer for the Local Network Fund. I moved to SYFAB in 2017 as its Barnsley Development worker.
I wanted to work in the voluntary sector for some years, but as an avid volunteer, I slowly built up my experience over time to apply for the Grant Officer role.
The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing groups thrive. Equally, rewarding is working with a group, or person from a group, and knowing that I have helped them understand the grants processes to the point they feel confident to do it for themselves. I jokingly explain my job as ‘doing myself out of a job’ – the groups will just need our weekly information, access to our funding search and be able to pursue funding opportunities under their own steam.
Our team is something I'm very proud of – we complement each other’s skills so well, and are all equally passionate about our work and the groups we support.
I love South Yorkshire, especially the diversity of the region. What I mean by that is the fact the geography changes so quickly from urban to rural; the people across the region come from such a range of backgrounds; it’s needs and issues, which don’t always resemble what’s happening across the country – which can make for challenging work, but also offer a rich landscape; and finally cultural differences – so many communities to learn from.
I work three days a week and I’m Grandma one day, which invariably goes into more – so my spare time now is spent mostly with my wonderful two grandkids. We're fortunate to have a large social group, so most weekends include catching up with friends – walking, eating and drinking. Karen Walke
Lorna Lewis, SYFAB Barnsley Funding Development Worker
Lorna is originally from Doncaster but has worked in Barnsley for nearly 30 years.
She lives in Barnsley with her dog, Jess.
Lorna provides support to community groups in Barnsley, working with local partners to host funding surgeries.
She is on hand to answer queries from community groups in the area.
I have worked at SYFAB for more than three years and in the voluntary sector for over 30 years.
I joined because I liked the work that SYFAB does and the impact supporting small groups can have on a community. The team is great too.
The most rewarding aspect of my role is seeing groups grow in stature and confidence from very small acorns.
I love living and working in South Yorkshire and my favourite thing is the people. They are friendly and direct. In my spare time I like to walk my dog, play Pickle ball - mash-up of tennis, badminton and table tennis - take photographs and enjoy a glass of red wine! Lorna Lewis
Peter Foyle, Joint-head of SYFAB
Blades fan Peter is from down South, but has called Sheffield home for more than 40 years.
He lives in Wincobank, and had the luxury before the SYCF office moved to High Green of being able to walk to work. However, it did involve taking on the famously steep Jenkin Road, as seen on the Tour de France!
Peter lives with Janet, his wife of nearly 40 years, and their Chihuahua Tinker. He’s the first dog Peter has ever owned, and to his relief is not at all yappy, and is also extremely lazy, so if it’s raining he’s very happy to give the walk a miss and stay in bed!
Peter is responsible for communication with local groups via SYFAB Funding News and the SYFAB website.
He also looks after contracts relating to the delivery of SYFAB funding advice in Sheffield and Barnsley, and collecting information on the impact their support brings to local communities.
I've worked at SYFAB since 2010, but I did work for the organisation previously, as ots Funding Advice Worker in Rotherham
I’ve always liked the way SYFAB do things, from de-mystifying things by using simple language, to tackling disadvantage in our communities by ensuring people’s access to funding
The most rewarding aspect of the role is seeing people realise that there is money out there to help them do things that will help their communities. The biggest barrier is often confidence.
I’ve helped groups get £100,00 grants, but the moment that sums up what SYFAB is about was sitting down with the volunteer leader of a pensioners’ group, and helping them fill out a form for a small grant, which would pay for that year’s activities. The next year, he asked where to get the form from, but completed it himself, and got the money. The skills are now out there in that community
Apart from Sheffield United FC, my faviourite thing about South Yorkshire has to be the countryside. It’s the reason I wanted to move up north.
A lot of my spare time is spent with family, and doing my share of ‘grandad’s taxi’. I also like cooking, and doing the odd bit of home brewing. Peter Foyle
Andy Kershaw, SYFAB Training Coordinator
Andy is from Sheffield, but also lived in South Wales for eight years.
He lives with his wife, Carol, a retired social worker and their three-year old Cockapoo, Jett. They have three grown up sons.
Well known to many in South Yorkshire, having worked for 20 years as a broadcaster for BBC Radio Sheffield, Andy now manages SYFAB’s training programme for community and voluntary groups whilst also delivering several of their funding courses.
This allows groups to learn funding skills and expertise to enable them to improve the lives of people in their communities.
I have worked at SYFAB since 2022 after taking voluntary redundancy from the BBC where I worked for two decades as a journalist and broadcaster.
I have always been connected to the voluntary and community sector as a trustee with several groups in my private life where funding for projects is critical and it felt like coming home to work for SYFAB as an experienced fundraiser.
The most rewarding aspect of the role is supporting people to acquire the skills, knowledge and confidence to become successful at securing funding for their groups, events, activities and projects.
Delivering a successful first years’ worth of funding training for groups and receiving positive feedback from them about their success makes me incredibly proud.
My favourite thing about South Yorkshire is the depth and breadth of the volunteer effort in hundreds of small groups working to transform lives and improve things for vulnerable and marginalised people in the region – they’re amazing!
Outside of work I enjoy getting out and about on my touring bike and swimming - my two main passions, along with holidays and sharing precious time with family and friends. Andy Kershaw