National Trustees Week: Could you take up the mantle to help local charities?

Community Voluntary Services Tendring has a board of eight trustees, who work to steer the organisation and help it prosper.

To mark National Trustees Week, they have spoken out about their roles and what they enjoy as well as why they think others should take up similar positions.

Brenda Ellis, chairman of the group, said: “There are so many facets to being a trustee.

“For me, it’s my way of putting back into the community everything I think I’ve had had from the community.

“It’s my way of supporting the people around me.

“It’s my way of being aware of what problems there are, and how I can be part of helping to be a solution to those problems.”

Community Voluntary Services Tendring runs the district's centre of Volunteer Essex where charities and voluntary organisations post volunteering opportunities and members of the public can register to volunteer.

Trustee Bob Newman, said: “Being a trustee isn’t onerous, it costs you nothing, and you have the facility to make a difference.

“I would encourage people, if they are thinking about it, to give it a try.”

The theme of this year’s Trustees Week, which runs from November 7 to 11, is making a difference in changing times.

Sharon Alexander, CVST chief officer, said: “The voluntary sector has seen unprecedented changes and challenges in the past three years.

“CVST has grown and is continuing to grow, offering more services than ever before to support the local community.

“And our fabulous board of trustees has been instrumental in that growth, supporting not only the organisation as a whole but the staff and volunteers on the ground.

“They shape the organisation and ensure CVST is the very best for the people it serves and the wider voluntary sector it supports in Tendring.”

To find out more about becoming a trustee or see what trustee positions are available in Tendring visit volunteeressex.org.