About Us - Miriam Dean Fund

Our History

We are a small charity, founded in the late 1940s, when it operated out of Miriam Dean’s home. We reach out to some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people in close partnership with established local groups, providing resources to turn their ideas into a positive reality. Whilst young people are a major focus, we aim to help as best we can where we identify a need, so raising the aspirations of all with whom we reach.

We fund activities abroad working only through trusted and regularly visited partners. At home, we aim to maintain personal contact with our supporters, hoping to make it feel like an extended family.

We do all this voluntarily. We have no staff or premises and minimal expenses (covered by income from funds awaiting allocation), so that we can send overseas every penny given to us by individuals. At the moment, we are sending around £140,000 each year.

We believe that the poor, of whatever race or creed, are the special concern of “the great love at the heart of all that is”. Consequently, they are our special concern too – and that is our motivation.

Our Trustees

With the exception of Laura Buchanan who has joined us recently, the current trustees were all recruited from St Nicolas Church in Newbury in 2005. Trevor Dorey presented to the church about the fund’s work and was inspired about its purpose and value. He also acknowledged that due to the age of the then current trustees, new blood was required to ensure the good work carried forward for another generation. This call was responded to by Andy and Sheila Moore and Jenny and Robert Buchanan. None had previous experience of working in the charity sector or being a trustee. All have been trustees since 2006.

Laura Buchanan became a trustee in 2016 and has added a young person’s enthusiasm and positivity to the team.

Andy Moore

Andy was an engineer by training, now retired from a career in MoD. He is currently a local Councillor. He chairs meetings of the trustees and is the principal correspondent with our Partners.

Sheila Moore

Sheila was a mathematician working for the OU and in the local school where she was a Governor. She manages the finances for the church and collections for the Foodbank. She maintains our database and organises communication with our Supporters.

Jenny Buchanan

Jenny is a practicing Solicitor and specializes in family work. Together with Sheila, she co-ordinates the financial aspects of the fund.

Robert Buchanan

Robert holds qualifications in both architecture and architectural history and is employed as a designer and conservation adviser. He has visited both India in 2006 and Africa in 2013 as a trustee of the fund.

Laura Buchanan

Laura is a practicing solicitor. She also has qualifications in psychology, meditation and self help coaching. She became a trustee in 2016 and has visited India in 2018.

Giving just a small donation to the Miriam Dean Fund can make a real difference to helping the poorest people in Africa and India

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