Trustees’ Week at The Purfleet Trust
This week, we’re celebrating the people who help guide, shape and support the work of The Purfleet Trust – our trustees.
Behind every charity is a team of people helping to ensure it can make a lasting difference. At The Purfleet Trust, our Board of Trustees plays a vital role in providing leadership, guidance and direction, helping us support people experiencing homelessness across King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in the best way possible.
Trustees Week is an opportunity to recognise the time, commitment, skills and experience that trustees give to charities across the country, and to say thank you to those who help make our work possible.
What does it mean to be a trustee?
Being a charity trustee is a voluntary role that carries significant responsibility. Trustees are responsible for overseeing the charity’s work, ensuring it is well governed, financially sustainable and working towards its aims.
While our staff and volunteers deliver services and support people every day, trustees help shape the organisation’s direction, make important decisions and ensure we have the right foundations in place for the future.
A strong Board brings together people with different professional backgrounds, skills, knowledge and perspectives. Just as importantly, trustees share a commitment to the charity’s purpose and the people it supports.
Meet our trustees
To mark Trustees Week, we’ve been speaking to some of our trustees to find out more about why they joined The Purfleet Trust, the skills and experience they bring, the projects that have inspired them and what they’re looking forward to in the future.
Watch our interviews below to hear directly from our trustees.
Trustee interview:
1. Why did you join The Purfleet Trust as a trustee?
Having spent most of my professional life working in social housing, I have always had a strong interest in supporting people who find themselves in difficult circumstances, particularly those experiencing homelessness and vulnerability.
I wanted to use some of the experience and knowledge I have gained throughout my career to give something back and support an organisation making a real difference to people’s lives. Having worked with the Purfleet Trust throughout that career, the Trust’s work, its values and its commitment to helping people rebuild their lives really appealed to me.
2. What skills from your career have you brought to the role?
Having spent over 30 years working in social housing, including 25 years in senior management and director level positions, I have gained considerable experience in leadership, operational management, governance, financial and risk management, organisational change and service improvement.
I also believe that listening, challenging constructively and understanding the perspectives of others are just as important as the professional skills you bring to a trustee role.
3. What story or project has had the biggest impact on you?
What has probably had the biggest impact on me is seeing first hand the breadth of support The Purfleet Trust provides and the difference it makes to people who are often facing some incredibly challenging circumstances.
What particularly resonates with me is the Trusts approach of looking beyond the immediate crisis and helping people develop the confidence, stability and practical skills to move towards independent living.
4. What are you looking forward to in 2027?
I’m looking forward to supporting the Trust through, what I believe, will be an important period of development and change.
There are exciting opportunities ahead, particularly around developing our services, improving our facilities and ensuring that we have the right foundations in place to support more people effectively.
5. What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a trustee?
My advice would be to listen, learn and never lose sight of why the charity exists in the first place.
Take time to understand the organisation, the people it supports and the challenges faced by those delivering its services. Don’t feel you have to have all the answers or demonstrate your experience straightaway.
Remember above all that being a Trustee is a privilege. The decisions you help make can have a genuine impact on peoples lives and that responsibility should never be underestimated.
Thank you to our trustees
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our trustees for the time, commitment, knowledge and expertise they give to The Purfleet Trust.
Their guidance and support help us continue developing our services, strengthening our organisation and creating positive pathways for people experiencing homelessness.
Thank you for standing alongside us and helping us make a difference.
