New Management For Thame’s Citizens Advice Bureau

THAME?S Citizen?s Advice Bureau, which has recently grown both physically and in the number of advisers available, has a new manager ? a man determined to up-date the image of the service.
Originally from Scotland, Tom Fox has lived in Oxfordshire for 30 years and spent most of his working life in business IT and Marketing, but in the last couple of years he has worked in the voluntary section at the Carers Centre in Didcot and for the British Red Cross in Abingdon.
Tom told ThameNews.Net: ?One of my main aims is to market the bureau to reach out to more people in the out-lying areas of Thame as well, and to develop relationships with local organisations in the Thame area like the WI, church groups, clubs and societies like the British Legion.
?Word of mouth is so important,? he added.
?I want people to know that although the bureau is in this wonderful old, historic building, what we offer on the inside is up-to-date information by properly trained advisors.

Tom explained that the main areas of advice being sort by local people in an apparently, affluent market town are advice about state benefits, debt or employment advice ? particularly for people not in full-time work; housing issues particularly those faced by people in rented accommodation, and advice sought by frail and disabled people. Many of these are referred to Tom and his team by local GPs.

?I am looking forward to the challenge of the job,? concluded Tom, ?and raising the profile of this place which has perhaps been taken for granted over recent years.?

Photo: Tom Fox, the new Manager of Thame Citezens Advice Bureau, (Right) with the Chair of the Bureau’s Trustees, Peter Todd.