Trustees' Week – Gareth Price
11 November 2016
Gareth Price, Head of Development, explains why he is a trustee for London Youth member Young Barnet Foundation.
Why are you a Trustee?
I’m a Trustee with the newly formed Young Barnet Foundation – which provides local support to charities and organisations working with children and young people in the borough. Over 124,000 children and young people live in Barnet – only Newham and Croydon have more.
Barnet is one of a number of outer boroughs where organisations working with children and young people are dealing with reductions in council funding at the same time as seeing an increasing demand for their services. So its really important for them to stick together and collaborate wherever and whenever they can – membership of Young Barnet helps them do this. We’re also working closely with London Youth to make sure local youth groups get support from them as well and can access opportunities like the Quality Mark. My nephew and niece are growing up in the borough so its nice to think that they might get to go to a sustainable youth club when they’re older. We’re having our launch event on 30th November if you’d like to come along and find out more let me know!
What do you enjoy about it?
I love the strong sense of teamwork and the feeling of camaraderie at Trustee meetings and to see the progress the team are making on a month by month basis. Its also very rewarding to volunteer my time for a cause I feel passionate about. I like having to think carefully about how I can add value for Janet, the CEO, and other staff, who are working for the organisation full-time – its great when I feel like I’ve done my job properly as a Trustee.
Any advice for others considering becoming a trustee?
Talk to people who’ve done it before so you know what to expect. Get a clear sense of the regular time commitment on an ongoing basis and make sure you can definitely fit in what’s required of you. Read up on NCVO and Charity Commission guidance for Trustees so you understand what your responsibilities are. Prepare to be a bit more hands off than you are if you’re working for a charity full-time. Its been an exciting new adventure for me, I’m really pleased I took the plunge and went for it.
London Youth are currently looking for a new Chair of Trustees. If you think that leading the governance of London Youth at this exciting time is of interest we would love to hear from you. Click here to see more about this fantastic opportunity.
