How mASCot started
mASCot was started 15 years ago by a parent, Sam Bayley :
"As a parent of an autistic child,
I wanted a place where parents and carers in Brighton and Hove could meet up together or online to support each other.
Having the coffee mornings and the online forum has made this possible,
watching mASCot grow and become such an amazing group
with so many families involved
is brilliant to see."
-Sam Bayley
Team mASCot
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"
-Margaret Mead
mASCot is a C.I.C (a non-profit making Community Interest Company) and each member of our Board of Directors is a parent of an autistic child or young adult. We get small amounts of independent funding which goes towards office admin and managing our projects, however all our Directors give their time on a voluntary basis to help run mASCot. All donations to mASCot are welcome and 100% of all donations go to running our projects. We all feel passionately about supporting fellow ASC families and providing activities and projects for our children.
Meet Team mASCot
Sam Bayley
Director
Laura Marrs
Director
Jo Matthews
Director
Sam is the founder of mASCot and her main role is supporting parents, whether it be school issues or to talk about the best strategies to use as a family.
Sam runs our 1-1 sessions where parents get the time to talk about anything related to their child's or families needs. She also runs workshops and courses for our members.
She also created, designed and manages the website and facilitates all the Facebook groups.
Jo runs our wonderful Girls Group & Sunday club.
She also runs out Teen+ spin off group, The Inbetweeners for our younger teens.
With a background in social care she is a valid member of the team and will be our go to person for all things relating to social care.
Jo is also working on bringing more talks and courses specialising on girls on the spectrum.
Laura oversees our Equine therapy and runs our Rambling club as well as being very active in planning and organising some of our projects.
Laura also has a good knowledge of internet safety and is getting more training in this area.
Being keen on fitness, she has worked with a local gym to provide free or low cost sessions for our members.
She has recently started our Kids Boxing Club.
Mimi Banks
Director
Paula Donovan
Director
mASCot Members
Mimi is our projects manager and oversees all of our funding applications and has successfully secured lots of funding for mASCot.
Mimi's main interests are our Youth Projects and runs our Teen+ & Ten+ Clubs as well as our Monday Cafe.
Mimi also works closely with our families whose children are currently out of school and works closely with the LA on providing provisions for these children.
Paula champions mASCot taking information and knowledge of Autism to a wider audience.
She has given talks at the universities and works to help improve the understanding of Autism within the professionals who work with our children and families.
Paula has knowledge of the private school system and has previously been a NAS ambassador.
mASCot is all about its members, who are included in all we do and help shape what support mASCot offers families. We are all parents of Autistic children/young adults, so we are all invested in mASCot being a inclusive, supportive place for our children and source of knowledge and support for families. The more members get involved, the more projects we can run.
