Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. We rely heavily on our Board of Trustees who give their time, effort and invaluable experience to guide and support the Foundation across the sectors they’re involved in.
I’m so proud to be a volunteer and Trustee at the Heart of England Community Foundation – it’s a great charity doing amazing things with talented local people to make community life better.
I always believe you need to “give” and “get” as a volunteer. By that I mean offer practical things like time, expertise, challenge, contacts and experience. And receive things like training, making a difference, being valued, meeting new people and having fun.
At the Foundation I’ve done a wide range of volunteer roles from chairing committees, developing HR policies or writing funding bids and strategies. My volunteering at the Foundation is mostly brain powered.
But for me, practical hands on volunteering is also a great motivator. So you may also see me volunteering behind the till, stocking shelves or using the vacuum cleaner at my local Oxfam shop!
I’m currently chairing one of our large Grants Committees for the Foundation in Birmingham and the Black Country. I’m so proud of the talented people like Helga Edstom and Afzal Hussain who sit on our panel and give great thought when deciding what projects we’re able to fund and why some applications have greater priority than others. We’re currently working on making this process simpler and more efficient with better feedback to applicants.
The Foundation is a community, and like any community works best when we share a vision, come together from diverse experiences and collectively make a difference. Like a community, we’re a team, and our different perspectives gives us our strength. I’m so proud to be a volunteer at the Foundation and happy to shout about it from the rooftops!