The Passing of our Chair, Jenny

It is with great sadness that we must inform you that Jenny Oates, our Chair of Julian Trust, passed away on Tuesday 10th March. She was 84.

For the last forty years she had been a volunteer and served as our Chair of Trustees for the last fourteen years. Jenny loved helping those in need at the shelter. She was calm and caring with a sense of humour and sparkling eyes. She was able to stand up to challenging guests and volunteers, and fight their corner when necessary at Board meetings. As Chair of Trustees she was able to lead from the front every Wednesday evening as Shift Supervisor. It was an education to observe how she could deal with all comers and the challenges some of them brought in off the street. Saintly and steely at the same time, she demonstrated tough love and was loved in return by guests and volunteers alike.

To everyone at the Julian Trust she is a legend and will continue to be an inspiration. She represented the Julian Trust at Buckingham Palace when we were awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, and she also received the Bishop's Award from the Clifton Diocese for her long-standing commitment to the homeless in Bristol.

Her life was of course much bigger than the Night Shelter - she will be missed by us all, and not least by the Wednesday Team. All of us at the Julian Trust wish her husband Tom and her family our most sincere condolences. It was a privilege to have Jenny as part of our volunteering family too.

Jenny at our Western themed 2025 Volunteers Party.