Wendy Brand - LASS member 1989 to 2009 and Chair 1997 to 2004
17th September 2009
Wendy Brand -LASS member ’89 to ’09 & Chair ’97 to ’04
Leicestershire AIDS Support Services wish to remember and celebrate the life of Wendy Brand who was a member of LASS for 20 years first as a friend and then as a volunteer and later a longstanding Chair of LASS. She worked tirelessly to support people living with HIV in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
As a volunteer she worked as a befriender, a respite volunteer, Drop-in worker, events coordinator, member of the ‘Promenaid’ fund raising shows – this entailed many hours of work seeking for prize donations and getting Celebrities to donate their time for free at the Haymarket Theatre to rise money for LASS’s hardship funds.
Wendy also worked as a LASS representative on many groups, gave talks, took part in the LASS training, ferried people to hospital and to other appointments, provided emotional and practical support to others, learned to juggle, led the sponsored swims, staffed many many information stalls and really touched all parts of the service provision that LASS supplied. Wendy helped make the LASS Panels which hang in the reception at LASS today. The panels contain hand made purses, each one in memory of a local person who died as a result of HIV.
Wendy was particularly well known for her love of butterflies and would wear many on her clothing which got her the nickname of the ‘Butterfly Lady’.
Wendy had a sense of commitment that helped her take LASS through difficult times, growing numbers of service users and more work involving families. She would listen and understand the needs of people very quickly, her front line knowledge feeding back to the management committee enabling them to make better informed decisions around the real needs of HIV positive people.
Wendy did all this whilst also undertaking work as a volunteer for many causes back in Rutland and being a very active Grandma.
For more information about LASS and our continuing work, HIV testing and training contact us on 01162559995 or see our website www.lass.org.uk