Our ambassadors

We're hugely grateful for the support of our ambassadors. They give their time, energy and funds to help us reach more children and families all over the UK.

As a Member of Parliament, Hilary Armstrong has served on the opposition front bench as a spokesperson and a Government Minister.

Hilary regularly attends our events. She hosted the Parliamentary Reception, 2008, and acted as Chair at Party Conference breakfast summit in 2010. She is an active advocate of ours in the House of Lords.

Sir Iain Livingstone is a former Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

He joined the Lothian and Borders Police as Constable in 1992 and led several major investigations and operations throughout his career.

As Chief Constable, he led the national Service through the Covid pandemic, the COP26 Summit, and events following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2015, he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal and was knighted in June 2022 for his services to policing and the public.

Sir Iain brings his expertise to support Action for Children’s work with children who are protected or supported by the police, and those involved in the criminal justice system.

Flora Martin MBE has supported Action for Children for over 20 years. She has been very actively involved in fundraising, most notably as a founding member of the Woman of Influence committee on which she served for ten years followed by nine years as a co-opted member of the Scotland Committee.

She continues to support the charity by attending events, encouraging her network to support and engage with Action for Children and sharing her expertise and knowledge when required.

Lord Jack McConnell was First Minister of Scotland from 2001-2007 and joined the UK House of Lords in 2010. He is Chair of the McConnell International Foundation and Chancellor of the University of Stirling.

When he was Education Minister and First Minister, Jack supported many Action for Children campaigns and events including our annual event at the Edinburgh Festival. He is engaged in peacebuilding and educational development in several countries.

He is a passionate campaigner against child abuse and neglect and support for vulnerable teenagers.

Alun Michael is a passionate supporter of Action for Children’s work to tackle child criminal exploitation.

A Labour & Cooperative MP for 25 years, he resigned in 2012 to serve as Police & Crime Commissioner for South Wales and led the Labour Group of PCCs and Deputy Mayors until May 2024.

Appointed Deputy Home Secretary in 1997, he introduced Community Safety Partnerships, Youth Offending Teams and the Youth Justice Board.

After being Secretary of State for Wales, he became the first First Minister of Wales. After an early career as a newspaper reporter, Alun was a youth worker working with young offenders, chaired Cardiff Juvenile Magistrates and was a leading City Councillor.

Dame Mary Perkins DBE is co-founder of Specsavers, an international optical and audiology healthcare business extending from the UK and Europe to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. The family-owned business, which operates with a locally owned and run joint venture partnership model, was founded more than 40 years ago.

Dame Mary is an extremely generous philanthropist, actively supporting numerous charities and good causes. Her advocacy for children's healthcare and wellbeing is one of her main passions and we are extremely grateful for her long-term support of Action for Children.

The Reverend Kathleen Richardson was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998.

Formerly a Methodist minister, she is particularly interested in church affairs and inter-faith relations. She was Chair of the London Ecumenical AIDS Trust and former Vice President of the Council for Christians and Jews.

Neville has been a passionate and committed supporter for more than 20 years. He has raised many hundreds of thousands of pounds for us during that time.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Fellow of the Explorers Club of New York, and Board Member of the Scientific Exploration Society.

Neville is an explorer, mountaineer and writer and has written many books on his exploits with his latest book being a U.S. novel titled – 'You are what you are'. He works in film, theatre and the Arts.

Co-founder of SThree (a leading computer specialist staffing company), Bill has been a generous advocate and major supporter since 1998. He has given significant gifts to the organisation.

Bill has been a loyal supporter of our biggest annual fundraiser, Byte Night, now Boycott Your Bed.

Gordon’s involvement with us started when he was Chief Operating Officer for TK Maxx, who also supported our Employability Scheme.

Gordon is an experienced international retailer, having held the role of Managing Director of LC Waikiki, Turkey’s largest fashion retailer.

As Director General of the British Video Association (BVA), Lavinia has been invaluable in fostering a partnership between us and the video industry. Led by the BVA, the industry has raised over £3 million for Action for Children.

Lady Henrietta is the Honourable Chair and a founding member of the Action for Children London Appeal Group. She is a major donor, having made personal donations to support our services.

As a consultant solicitor for Keystone Law, Paul supported us for a number of years. He served on the Board of Byte Night (now Boycott Your Bed), our largest fundraising event. His expertise has helped the event raise over £14 million.

This year marked the passing of Sister Eluned Williams MBE, one of Action for Children’s last Methodist-ordained ‘Sisters of the Children’.

Sister Eluned worked with us for 44 years, 25 of which she spent managing Ardwyn Children’s Home in Dinas Powys. She received an MBE for services to children and young people.

After her retirement, she continued as an Action for Children Ambassador. She is warmly remembered by all those whose lives she touched.