July 25, 2016

Jennie Thompson

Jenni ThompsonJennie Thompson was born in Northern England in 1950. She was educated in Englad and has O and A levels and is a qualified medical recptionsits.In 1977 married with three sons , Jennie stated working in the local primary school helping children read and this eventually led to working in the Youth Club as a Youth leader with youngsters from all walks of life and backgrounds. Jennie was also at that time the company secretary for her husband’s company Welstock Steel and Alloys. In 1981 following the birth of her daughter Jennie and a colleague set up an outside catering company which started as a small local business but expanded and because of other commitments reluctantly stopped trading after three years.

In 1987 the family moved to the Isle of Man to provide better living conditions and education for the children. Jennie joined a small private company Charles Cain & Co Limited in the expanding Finance sector and when this company was acquired by IFG a Dublin based PLC company, Jennie became the only woman Director in the whole Group in 1990. The leisure division which was Jennies responsibility expanded and after acquiring another large Trust Company, Jennie was made Managing Director. In 1996 Jennie left and has been her “own boss “ since that time specialising in business consultancy in the leisure industry and professional Directorships. In 2002 she and her husband went to live in Spain where she continued her business but got involved with the British Chamber of Commerce in span being privileged to Vice president and represent the Andalucia region.

She is now based back on the Isle of Man with her family but is also is director of Resort Fiduciary Services Limited, a trust company based in the UK and heavily involved in the business development of her clients.

Why I support The International Black & White Association

I was a teenager in the 60’s which although a time of peace and understanding was also the time of Martin Luther King of anti apartheid South Africa, the Black power Movement. This intolerance I was against. I had grown up and gone to school in a heavily Jewish area of North Manchester. The first question I was asked on my first day at school was “ Are you Jewish or Christian?” This was not a negative question purely whether I was going to assembly or schule. There was not anti Semitism, My Jewish friends ate at a Kosher dining room we didn’t, we had assembly they went to their own. The 6 day war showed me the other side of a religion the way of life the passion the bravery. Of course I learnt about anti Semitism about the holocaust, from those who survived and what harrowing tales they were.

Manchester was an industrial town then and during the fifties was a time when the Jamaicans were coming over to live and work. I saw black faces but never thought anything of it but then came the Uganda crisis, and Enoch Powell making his famous comment about immigrants and suddenly the realisation that there was another side to the situation. I was always taught to be tolerant and understanding of others by my parents and to view these changes as a youngster was revealing.

I saw suspicion and anger. As an adult on the Isle of Man I worked with a political refugee from Ghana, another introduction to another way of life. Of course as the years have progressed and I have travelled then more an d more intolerance and aggression between peoples either because of religion , their colour, their politics or their way of life has shown itself to me.

In Spain when I met Francis and Wendy , Martin Luther King’s “ I have a dream” speech came to mind. Francis had a dream. He had nothing else but this dream, this want this need to combat racism that he had suffered first hand and to support those underprivileged in our society and to teach tolerance and understanding where it matters most….to the young. The International Black & White Association started from humble beginnings I was privileged to accept the position as Vice President.

Spain has its own problem economic and cultural but the reaction to the association, the support the help has been wonderful. There may not be any money but that does not stop those from seeing what can happen and what can be achieved. Book collections and the visiting of the schools and the youngsters’ reactions have been very moving.

We are now registering under the UK Charity Commission and the future is full of opportunities so I hope that you who are reading this will contact us and join because what we stand for and what we can achieve we can only do together.