Gloucestershire lawyer given one week to live - now she's helping change the lives of ten young women
Nicola Poole beat cancer and now owns her own law firm in the Cotswolds
Last updated 8th Mar 2022
A Gloucestershier lawyer, who was given one week to live, has committed to changing the lives of ten young women.
Nicola Poole was diagnosed with Viseral Leishmaniasis in 2004 - a highly fatal parasitic illness if it goes untreated.
She won her battle with it and started her own law firm, Hedges Law in the Cotswolds.
She's now an ambassador for Women Supporting Women, a collective started by The Prince's Trust, to support young women create brighter futures for themselves.
The collective aims to raise £10 million by 2023 to ensure that even more young women can be supported by The Trust to overcome barriers into jobs, education and training, or to start their own businesses.
"I didn't expect to be here today"
Following her challenges in life, Nicola has pledged to help transform the lives of ten young women.
"I really think there are young women that will benefit from being inspired and being supported to make their own way in the world", says Nicola.
"Women have been disporportionately affected during the pandemic because of the industries affected most by the crisis like retail which has a higher number of women working in it.
"I really feel like I'm in a position of privilege to help these women and support them as much as possible which is what I'm really passioante about."
The Prince’s Trust is a charity dedicated to helping young people transform their lives and the Women Supporting Women collective is behind the annual #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign for International Women’s Day.
Nicola continues: "I didn’t really expect to be here today, let alone be in the privileged position of owning and running a law firm.
Now in my role as ambassador for WSW, I can help other young women overcome their obstacles and reach their potential.
"Changing one girl's life would be a fabulous opportunity, and ten, an absolute joy."