International Women’s Day is a worldwide celebration of the social, political, cultural and economic achievements of women, observed annually on 8th March. 2026 marks the 115th year of this special day, and this year’s theme is ‘Give to Gain’, with an emphasis on encouraging “a mindset of generosity and collaboration… reciprocity and support”.

Gloucestershire is full of extraordinary women who give generously every day with their time, expertise and money, and this has a meaningful impact on the many communities around our county.

To mark this special day, we thought we would highlight just a few of these amazing women who help to make a difference to so many others through their work, and ask them what giving means to them in the essence of International Women’s Day. From health and wellbeing, safety and sustainability, to education, inclusion and championing local businesses, read on to find out why we think these women deserve to be recognised this International Women’s Day.

Ellen Roome MBE – Founder of Jools’ Law and National Online Safety Campaigner
With her extensive campaigning over the last two years and regular appearances on television, at public events and across social media, there aren’t many people who won’t have heard of Ellen Roome MBE. Ellen tragically lost her son Jools in 2022 aged just 14 and since then has campaigned tirelessly to bring about change in the online world to create a safer digital world for children and a fairer system for the families left behind.

Jools’ Law calls for the automatic preservation of a child’s digital data when a child dies – data that could hold vital evidence about what happened to them and ultimately led to their death. Beyond this, Ellen has been involved in other online safety campaigns, such as banning social media for under-16s in the UK.

What does giving mean to you?
“For me, giving means turning pain into purpose. When Jools died, I felt completely powerless. I could not bring him back, and the system as it stood offered me no answers. Jools’ Law is not retrospective. It will not give me the clarity I am still fighting for. But I knew it could help other bereaved parents.

“I began this journey simply wanting to understand what had happened to my son. Along the way, I realised that if I could not change his outcome, I could change the system for those who come after us. So I gave it everything I had to change the law for other families. And I have done so.

“Giving, for me, has meant offering my unpaid time, my energy, my voice and sometimes my privacy, so that another mother or father does not have to fight the same battle just to access their child’s data. It has meant standing in the most painful place imaginable and choosing to use that pain to protect other children. Turning grief into action. Turning loss into protection. Turning my son's story into a change that will help many.”




Julie Kent MBE – High Sherriff of Gloucestershire
Another woman who needs no introduction thanks to her decades of work in the charity sector is Julie Kent MBE. Spend 30 seconds on her website and you’ll see that Julie embodies everything this year’s International Women’s Day theme is about – giving – so it’s no wonder she regularly appears in features such as this and has won an award for the Most Outstanding Woman in the Charitable Sector in the West.

Her biggest fundraising challenge ever was in 2023 when she raised an incredible £500,000 to fund a psychologist for 10 years for children having cancer treatment on the Emily Kent Unit, a ward named after Julie’s daughter Emily who died at the age of three from a brain tumour. She is also coming to the end of her year as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, a role which supports the Crown, the judiciary, emergency services and voluntary organisations that keep our communities safe.

What does giving mean to you?
“I love that this a win-win. It makes the person or charity you are giving to feel really good and releases good endorphins in you too to give. A win-win in my book.”




Beth Kitt – Founder of The Bump to Baby Chapter
Beth Kitt is a qualified midwife and self-confessed birth nerd who established her company in 2016 to help educate pregnant women and their partners through their journey of bump, to birth, to baby through antenatal classes in Gloucestershire and online.

Enabling someone to feel calm, confident and prepared to bring new life into the world is arguably one of the most powerful things one woman can give to another, and Beth has taken this to a new level with her online courses. To date, she has helped tens of thousands of women to prepare for birth and baby, not just in our county but all across the world, with 300 women joining the course every single month.

What does giving mean to you?
“To me, giving means showing up when someone needs it most, with time, knowledge and compassion. As a midwife, I see every day that when women are given reassurance, evidence-based support and belief in their own strength, they can gain so much; confidence, control and belief in themselves.”




Florence Nyasamo – Founder/CEO of Lives of Colour
Florence Nyasamo is a community development specialist and inclusion consultant based in Gloucestershire. After moving to the county in 2003, she studied Politics and Community Development at the University of Gloucestershire, specialising in community cohesion.

She has since dedicated her career to strengthening inclusive communities, chairing the African Community Foundation, and founding Black History Cheltenham. Florence is the founder/CEO of Lives of Colour, supporting organisations to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion in practical ways. She also serves as a board member for The Pheonix Way, a national initiative tackling structural racism through community wealth-building across charitable and non-charitable sectors.

What does giving mean to you?
“To me, giving is deeply rooted in culture and community. It is not limited to financial donation, it is about showing up for others in meaningful ways. Being present for friends and family during difficult times is giving. Supporting relatives back home with school fees is giving. Spending time mentoring young people is giving. Providing clothes and food for those in need is giving. Contributing towards family and friends travel costs when they loss their loved ones and must travel abroad is giving. Giving, for me, is an everyday responsibility and a shared commitment to care, dignity, and collective wellbeing.”




Clare Seed – Founder of Public Hearts Cheltenham Defibrillator Campaign
When it was identified in 2018 that there were no Automated External Defibrillators in Cheltenham town centre, Clare Seed and her co-founder Chris Hickey set off on a mission to raise awareness and numbers of these lifesaving machines. The Public Hearts Campaign was kickstarted in October 2019 with the installation of the town centre’s first Public Access Defibrillator in the Promenade, thanks to the generosity of founding partner Cheltenham BID.

Since then, Clare has worked extremely hard to facilitate the installation of 113 defibrillators across Cheltenham – making it the “Defib Capital of the South West” according to the BBC – as well as others in Gloucester, Longlevens, Churchdown, Brimscombe, Stroud, and three in field hospitals in Ukraine.

The campaign was registered as a Community Interest Company in 2023 and now also provides preventative heart screening to reduce the rate of out of hospital cardiac arrests. Clare’s mission is to make Cheltenham one of the safest towns in the UK, and it’s fair to say she and her team have made big waves in achieving this goal already.

What does giving mean to you?
This quote by Winston Churchill sums up my thoughts on giving: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”




Emily Gibbon – Manager of Gloucester BID
There aren’t many people more passionate about Gloucester than Emily Gibbon. For Emily, it isn’t just a place of work – it’s a place she calls home and a city she believes in wholeheartedly. Emily took on the role of BID Manager in November 2020, becoming a driving force behind a stronger, more confident city. She works hand in hand with local businesses and residents, helping them to navigate challenges, seize opportunities and feel heard.

From championing independent traders, assisting with city-wide events, and helping to drive campaigns such as Love Gloucester – a whole month dedicated to celebrating the people, places and possibilities that make the city special – Emily’s aim is simple: make Gloucester better for the people who live, work and visit there.

Emily also recently won the Ambassador of the Year title at the Believe in Gloucester awards in November 2025 – an accolade that “honours the person who goes above and beyond to make a difference to their community and city”.

What does giving mean to you?
“To me, giving means putting others before yourself. From giving time to someone or something to donating to a charity, your action will help and mean a lot to others.”




Francesca Inman – Chief Executive of Cheltenham BID
Another leading lady in business in our county is Francesca Inman, who has led the team at Cheltenham BID since May 2024. In a similar vein to Emily Gibbon, Francesca is passionate about promoting Cheltenham and working with its local businesses and residents, with a particular focus on safer streets and crime reduction.

Campaigns and events that Francesca and her team have helped to facilitate include a graffiti tag removal project, BID in Bloom, Cambray Carnival, the Elephant Mosaic Refurbishment, and safety initiatives like bike marking . These all contribute to their mission of creating a vibrant, welcoming town that attracts visitors, unites businesses and keeps driving Cheltenham forward in a positive direction.

What does giving mean to you?
“For me, giving is about creating opportunities for others – whether that’s supporting local businesses, helping people feel safer in their community, or bringing partners together to achieve something bigger than we could alone. When you invest time, energy and care into a place and its people, you almost always gain stronger connections, shared pride and lasting impact in return.”




Lucie Archer – Co-Founder of Hockey Fever
Mum of four and former Wales international hockey player Lucie Archer is one of the county’s leading female figures when it comes to getting people into sport and physical activity. In 2016, Lucie co-founded Hockey Fever – a community initiative aimed at sharing all the positives of hockey, such as fun, teamwork, confidence, commitment and self-esteem, and making the sport accessible to everyone.

The grassroots hub recently launched a campaign called ‘Pass it Forward’, which is all about giving old hockey sticks a new story by passing them onto young players who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the equipment. The campaign not only supports accessibility in sport, but also removes financial barriers, promotes sustainability, and reinforces the message that small acts of giving can make a big difference.

What does giving mean to you?
“I am truly grateful to be able to give back to the sport and community that has given and still does give me such a lot of opportunities to grow, experience the world and meet new people.  I love the idea of passing things forward, either materially, with giving time or just a quick bit of support. If we all pass things forward, I believe this creates a cycle that ultimately comes back round to us. What can you pass forward or give today? Even a smile can go a long way!”

Nicola Bird – Founder and CEO of AccXel
From becoming one of the youngest college lecturers on campus at just 18, to founding the UK’s first industry-led construction school years later, Nicola Bird has built her career around one core belief: education and opportunity change lives.

Nicola founded AccXel Construction School to help address the construction industry’s growing skills shortage and to create meaningful pathways into the sector for people from all backgrounds. Built in collaboration with industry, AccXel bridges the gap between education and employment by delivering employer-led training that responds directly to real workforce needs.

What does giving mean to you?
“For me, giving means believing in people before they fully believe in themselves. At AccXel, we have a quote on the wall from my mum, ‘Believe in me, and I can achieve it’, and it reflects how I see leadership and opportunity. Giving is about seeing potential in people, creating pathways where none existed before, and supporting others to step forward with confidence.

“In construction especially, giving means opening doors, challenging perceptions, and helping people realise they belong in this industry. The real gain comes when those individuals grow, succeed, and go on to lift others up too.”




Dani Seatter – Founder of Eco-Able and Children’s Author
Dani Seatter founded the award-winning sustainable brand Eco-Able in 2019 to help families connect with the planet through eco-friendly products and gifts. Since then, Dani has drawn on her experience as an early years educator to publish five eco children’s books. Printed on 100% recycled paper and using eco-friendly inks and processes, the books are beautifully illustrated and introduce gentle themes to children such as caring for the planet in Away and Oceans Away.

Dani’s most recent efforts have seen her leading various book-themed community campaigns whereby she is collaborating with businesses and other organisations to get more books into children’s hands. In particular, her Bereavement Book Campaign aims to provide a copy of her book About Hedgehog into all primary schools to help support the new RSHE grief and bereavement curriculum.

Eco-Able has been giving back from day one, providing to support to various charities and community groups including Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, The Barn Theatre and The Brainstrust.

What does giving mean to you?
“Giving to me means giving back. I’ve always had the mindset that giving something back to your communities is a fundamental, whether personal or business. I see kindness in the world through individuals giving back, time, support or financial. We can all do something that helps others and inspires those who come after us.”

Of course, we’re only just scratching the surface of identifying our county’s extraordinary women, so we would love you to tell us about the amazing women you know and how they give back in Gloucestershire. If there is a special woman you would like us to know about, please email lois@thelocalanswer.co.uk with the subject line ‘Gloucestershire’s Wonderful Women’.