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Married to Robert with two grown up children. The majority of my career has been as a senior leader in IT, 22 years in the Financial Sector and 8 years in Managed Services, now retired and enjoying European travels. I’m a qualified Programme Manager and a professional Coach and Trainer.
I first became a trustee to utilise my experience gained in the corporate world to support my local community via the Voluntary Sector and what better way than through an infrastructure charity whom support multiple charities.
I worked at a multinational leaving a senior regional management role after 30 years in order to focus more time on voluntary work in Calderdale and running a small consultancy business. I have worked with Threeways, Home-Start Calderdale and Happydays amongst others over the subsequent time, the last two as a board member. I have also had some experience in working with a couple of national charities too.
The experience I have had with the local charities showed me both the positive impact that the voluntary sector can make to individuals and the community but also that all small charities can and potentially must seek to benefit significantly from having a broader network to gain support and collaborations. Funding is getting harder and the demand for voluntary services increasing, the only way to sustainability is by being smarter and adapting, collaborating and sharing across multiple organisations.
VAC has the potential to facilitate and help this to happen successfully and I wanted to try to help this and support charities throughout Calderdale achieve their potentials.
Although having worked in the charity sector for the past 14 years I have experience in accounting,commercial and public sector. This background will serve me well, enabling me to help make decisions that make commercial sense, helping secure long term sustainability for the chairity.
I have one son as well as a step daughter and son who bring great joy as well as the challenges all parents are aware of. Pam and I have been married since 2010 when we both lived in Suffolk. We are relishing the joys and the more varied weather in West Yorkshire and intend to end our days here.
I’ve worked for many years supporting those setting up and running their own businesses; as well as having worked with and for organisations locally, regionally and nationally who provide that support. I now work for a charity set up to run and manage an iconic community building following a community asset transfer from local authority ownership.
I have developed a wealth of experience working with small and micro business, social enterprises and community groups and bring that experience to my role at VAC where I hope to support their growth and development and long term sustainability.
I am a professional Dance Artist with over 13 years of experience working with people of all ages within communities, education settings and professional dance organisations. My work is focused on making a positive difference to the wellbeing of the people and communities I work with through inclusive and high quality experiences. I run my own social enterprise and also work for an inclusive dance charity.
I became a trustee because I’m passionate about supporting the local VCSE sector and would like to use my creative skills and knowledge around wellbeing in new ways, supporting VAC to ‘improve local lives’.
Growing up in Calderdale I was fortunate to benefit from third sector support, so it is wonderful to be able to now contribute to supporting the sector. Since returning from my studies in London and Durham, I have supported local families as a funeral director and I’ve recently embarked on my first trusteeship at VAC.
I’ve worked in the charity sector for many years, spending the last ten years at Community Transport Calderdale. We’re fortunate to have a vibrant voluntary sector in Calderdale with many organisations doing valuable work. As a member Trustee, I’m keen to help VAC expand the portfolio of services it offers to local voluntary sector organisations so they can continue to do a great job for local people.
I’d love to hear feedback or fresh ideas from members or prospective members. Please send contact details to membership@cvac.org.uk fao. Mandy Smith and I’ll get in touch for a chat.
©Copyright 2024 VAC is the operating name of Voluntary & Community; A Registered Charity No 1087518 and Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England No 4115234. Design by Grinning Graphics
You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!
Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.
When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.
They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.
We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members. Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.
The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.
To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.
The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.
The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.
A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!
A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.
40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.
25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.
25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.
Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.
All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven. As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.
You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!
Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.
When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.
They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.
We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members. Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.
The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.
To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.
The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.
The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.
A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!
A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.
20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.
Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.
Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.
All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.
