We are absolutely thrilled that our very own charity founder and volunteer CEO has been named in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours List.  Lynn McManus is to receive an MBE in recognition of her dedication to our charity, Pathways 4 All.  Lynn established the charity back in 2010 and has worked tirelessly to drive it forward ever since.  She has volunteered much of her spare time, alongside raising ten children and being a loving grandmother of seven.

Lynn’s five youngest children are all adopted and have a range of additional needs and disabilities. Her motivation for starting the charity followed a negative experience at a soft play centre, when Lynn was instructed to leave following a behaviour incident involving her daughter Millie, who has ADHD, learning disabilities and a hearing impairment. Frustrated by the lack of play opportunities for disabled children, Lynn started a community youth group in 2008 which evolved into a registered charitable organisation in 2010. Lynn’s dream was to open a specialist activity centre where disabled children and their families could come without fear of judgement or ridicule.

“I am truly delighted to be given this honour in such a momentous year for our Queen”

In 2012 Lynn’s dream became reality when Pathways 4 All opened the doors to the Tim Lamb Children’s Centre, offering sensory play facilities to around 60 Tyneside families with disabled children. Ten years on, our centre now has over 1000 families visiting us regularly from across the region. We also open our facilities to several local special schools and other disabled children’s charities too.

On hearing about her MBE award Lynn said “I am truly delighted to be given this honour in such a momentous year for our Queen, the Tim Lamb Children’s Centre has become ‘my life’ over the past 12 years and I have been overwhelmed by all the amazing families I have met and been able to support through our fantastic charity”

Lynn was very quick to acknowledge her staff team and the charity’s Board of Trustees stating “I am aware none of this would have been possible without the dedication of the staff team and trustees we have built up over the years”   Lynn gave special mention to Centre Manager Vicky, Parent Trustee Anna and her eldest daughter Joanna, who all took the time to nominate her for this award.  She also expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals, businesses and organisations who continue to support the charity.

Lynn continues to take an active voluntary role in both the day to day running of the charity and in the fundraising for it. Over the past 10 years, Lynn has organised 10 Charity Balls and raised in excess of £1.5 million, this has enabled the charity to improve the facilities on offer at the Tim Lamb Centre and continue to provide a lifeline to families.

If you are interested in supporting our charity, we encourage you to email info@pathways4all.co.uk or call 0191 266 5233. More information about the various ways you can support our charity can be found here.

If you are a family member of a disabled child and want to know more about what we do, you can find out more information here.