Ben Phillips
I’m a man wanting to utilise every skill I have and my wealth of experience to make a difference in all spheres of my life – as a husband, a father, an employee, a friend, and an active member of communities (e.g. geographic, church, and ABandOfBrothers charity). I have a passion for creating nourishing spaces where people can flourish and become more whole. I have developed skills at creating these spaces throughout my life, through my own personal search for wholeness, through structured education (e.g. certificate in counselling skills), through ~5 years as a listening volunteer at Samaritans and ~5 years as the co-founder of the charity ABandOfBrothers Leamington Spa. After 25+ years in the Information Technology sector, I’m now training to be a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.
I’ve been living in Leamington Spa since 2004 and moved here with my wife Clare. I’m proud to be doing some inspiring charity work for ABandofBrothers (ABOB). As well as volunteering, I’m also employed to develop ABOB’s Impact Measurement solution (IM). My vision for IM is that it’ll provide information from the front line which will help to shape ABOB to become better at serving young men.
What is your motivation for being a part of A Band of Brothers in Leamington?
I was invited to an open evening in Oxford and I was really so moved by what the ABoB organisation was up to with young men. I struggled a lot in my youth, I felt very lost and I felt like I could have easily fallen off the rails and ended up in prison or worse. My instant impression was: what a fantastic organisation that’s helping young men, especially young men who don’t have access necessarily to supportive relationships.
I was so inspired, and motivated that I really feel like this is my purpose in life to help young men grow and become mature contributing adults.