To celebrate ‘Trustees’ Week‘, Geoff, KLS’ longest standing trustee, has written a few words about his experience.
Volunteers are our life blood – without them we simply wouldn’t exist. This includes our Trustees who are a fantastic group of volunteers who are legally in charge of KLS. They play a vital role, working with the staff and volunteer team to make strategic, financial and legal decisions about our charity’s work. Trustees’ Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.
Here’s what Geoff (on the far left of the picture above) had to say:
“I became a trustee in 2001 through Francis Holland School (where Geoff was Bursar and where Katherine Low herself went to school in the 1880s), when help was needed on the building of the Surestart crèche. In the early years I was involved with the buildings and the finances, everything that happened then was rather on a wing or prayer.
Since then we have had three excellent Chairs of Trustees, each of whom with different styles. They have carried us forward and now we are in a stable financial control with good utilisation of all the facilities. The Trustees are mainly local people who fully understand the needs of the Battersea community.
We have been lucky or perhaps perceptive in our choice of staff, so we have good, committed leaders for all projects supported by hard working volunteers.
KLS always offers a warm even joyous welcome to everyone, it is essentially owned by the users/ members; the Staff & Trustees being just a steering force.
It is a place where everyone belongs, when the time comes for me to stand down, it will be by force!”