Trustee Case Study - Moin
Name of organisation you are a Trustee with:
Kirklees Visual Impairment Network
How did you find out about becoming a Charity Trustee?
I had some past fund raising experience but I wanted to have more direct involvement with a small local charity. In 2016, a business colleague of mine saw a post by KVIN who at the time were looking for trustees. I went and met the founder and Chair David Quarmby and was impressed by the work KVIN were delivering. I realised there was a lot of value I could personally add with my business experience and agreed to become a trustee.
What tasks do you undertake in your Trustee role?
I get involved in many aspects of KVIN including recruitment of the staff team. As a small charity, we had to ensure that the first few people we recruited had to have the right qualities to help us deliver our goals. Luckily we have an outstanding team of staff, lead brilliantly by our sustainability manager Christine Stephen. I am also involved with the marketing committee and the fundraising committee.
One of my biggest strengths is business growth – planning it then helping deliver it. When I joined KVIN, I knew the work that they were doing was exceptional and extremely relevant. However they were a well-kept secret – no one really knew they existed! My focus therefore was to ensure we grew as a charity so that the many more of the visually impaired (VI) communities, not just in Kirklees, but also in West Yorkshire and eventually beyond could benefit from the services KVIN deliver. At KVIN, we are a community first. We offer emotional support, technology guidance and friendship. We help breakdown stereotypes of people with sight loss and encourage them to reach their full potential. We want to grow so that eventually we have a national reach but continue to have a local feel. Our goal is to become the UKs local sight loss charity and I am here to help deliver that!
How has becoming a Charity Trustee made a difference to your life?
I come from a large family and I grew up in a closed knit, supportive community in the 1980s in Lancashire.
It was a proper working class community where everyone looked out for each other and people supported each other’s families without asking for anything in return. People had very little but many of them worked hard, saved up what they had and eventually over the years progressed there lives and livelihoods by buying the local corner shop or other small businesses.
I guess I was shaped by those early experiences. So looking to grow KVIN, being connected to a community and giving back without the expecting anything in return is natural to me.
Helping KVIN grow and achieve their goals is very fulfilling and I am finding the journey very exciting!
What would you say to encourage other people to consider becoming a Charity Trustee?
Before joining KVIN, I didn’t have a clue what being a trustee was all about.
In my experience it’s not at all about sitting through long and dull meetings, or having to wade through piles of mind-numbing paperwork.
Its actually about working with incredibly talented and humble people, helping to shape a charity that I am passionate about, and having a real say in issues that are meaningful to me.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experience as a Trustee?
We did our annual charity walk again this, called the Valli Rally. Usually this is held as a countryside trek across Kirklees but due to COVID-19 and in a departure from previous years, this years event was held as a ‘virtual’ sponsored walk. Our goal was to walk a collective 2020 miles and raise £7500.
Despite the restrictions, Valli Rally 2020 hit new heights. A record 163 people took part in the event and walked a collective 2095 miles, We had our doubts about doing the charity walk this year but I am proud that in the end we were able to raise £7779!