Could you be the next trustee of a Highland mental health charity?
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One of the Highland’s leading mental health charities is on the hunt for some new trustees.
Centred, which recently opened its Discovery College in the Eastgate Centre, has been providing support to people across the region for over 30 years.
David Brookfield, chief executive of Centred, explains why trustees are so important to the organisation and the difference they make: “We’re very fortunate to be supported by an amazing Board of Trustees. Our trustees are dedicated and passionate and each bring different work and life experience and skills that help us to achieve our goals. Our trustees are vital to our continued success as they hold the formal power and responsibility for the whole Centred organisation, including any legal accountability.
“The Discovery College in Inverness is pioneering in the mental health sector, and we have lots of plans to expand our services across the Highlands. There has never been a better time to join us on this journey at Centred and I would encourage anybody with professional skills who is looking to give something back to society to consider becoming a trustee at Centred.”
What is a trustee?
Charity trustees are the people in overall control and management of a charity.
They may be called directors, management committee members or committee members, but the law considers them to be 'charity trustees'.
They are responsible for the charity's governance and strategy and for making sure that the charity is administered effectively. They must account for its activities and outcomes.
Executive Magazine caught up with Reverend Derek Brown, chairman of Centred, to find out what being a trustee at the charity is like:
When did you become a trustee?
I’ve been a trustee with Centred since February 2020.
What made you decide to become a trustee?
In my working life I worked in the health service and had, on occasions, worked with staff at Centred. In my role as a healthcare chaplain, I was involved in people’s life events and supporting individuals.
I knew some of the work that Centred did and when I was approach to join the board, I knew a little but about what went on and how I could help, and it grew from there.
What commitment is involved in being a trustee?
We have six meetings a year, which last for about two hours. There are things to read before each of these meetings and sometimes we have questions about this.
We spend time finding out financial figures and getting to grips with reports from different areas of the charity.
We generally meet online and try to get together with the board and senior management once a year.
What do you enjoy about it?
There’s something about having a big picture of the organisation, volunteering is good for all of us.
In this case, it’s not hands on in terms of working directly with the people Centred supports, but it’s essential that those services continue to thrive and develop and see people flourish.
Seeing what the organisation can deliver and helping the charity to seek out new opportunities and set strategy is exciting. Seeing the response from service users to the care they have received is wonderful.
Why would you encourage people to get involved?
If people have skills - financial, accountancy, legal and HR, for example - then it will help so much with what we do.
Also if people have lived experience and have been helped by mental health services, then it allows them to give something back and they can feed into what we are doing. They can provide insight into what our strategy will look like on the ground.
People can use their skills to benefit others and get something back from that.
Interested To Find Out More?
If you think you can provide a valuable contribution to the important work that Centred carries out across the Highlands, why not come along and meet the team at the Discovery College which is open to anybody in the community from Wednesday to Friday each week in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness, from 10am until 4pm.
Alternatively, if you would like to talk David or Derek to find out more about what being a trustee entails, then get in touch.
Centred
01463 236507
hello@centred.scot
