A tribute to Shirley Adams

Shirley Adams served as a Trustee of the Manchester Relief In Need Charities for over 30 years, a period of great change in the ever increasing needs of vulnerable people across Manchester. Shirley was always a passionate advocate for empowering all people whatever their circumstances whilst compassionately wanting to help the most vulnerable at their time of need. Her experience of working at frontline support services at NACRO, Director of Wood Street Mission and as Chief Executive of The Gaddum Centre, she saw first-hand just what reaching out to offer a helping hand could do to someone in their most desperate moments. That wealth of experience alongside her lifelong commitment to voluntary public service made a huge impact to the work of this Charity. During her time on the Board of Trustees thousands of people were supported alongside grants given to hundreds of other local organisations to help them further their work to relieve the devastating effects of poverty on children, young people, adults and families.

Her voluntary work went far deeper than her decades of working as part of the Relief In Need team. Shirley served on many local and national charity boards. She also chaired the governors of her local primary school and served in her local parish church. She was a Presiding Justice on the Greater Manchester Adult and Family Benches as well as mentoring many other new Magistrates as they were appointed.

Anyone who worked or volunteered with Shirley will understand the real impact she had every day and the way she was always available to offer support and her very distinctive pragmatic and insightful perspective.

No words written here will ever fully represent the lifelong devotion she gave to public service and the impact she had on the Greater Manchester community and the wider reaches nationwide.

As we mourn our dear friend, all of us here at Manchester Relief In Need will forever be grateful for her tireless work and immense contribution. Our thoughts are with her son Owain, to whom she was devoted and to all her family and friends.