Celebrating Trustees' Week
Published on 07 November 2022 09:03 AM
Benny Wright, Age UK Plymouth's Chair of Trustees takes a moment to reflect on the role of a trustee...
The primary role of the trustee of a charity is often described as ‘acting as the charity’s guardian of purpose’. This may sound quite grandiose but it really isn’t. If I were to try and reduce the function of a trustee down to just one sentence then I’d go with ‘making sure that all decisions and actions put the needs of our beneficiaries first’.
For us that means Trustees are responsible for safeguarding the charity’s assets – both physical assets as well as things like our reputation – and ensuring that they are used well and sustainably for the older people of Plymouth and their carers, not just now but for years to come.
It’s a voluntary role that does come with a lot of responsibility. But I know that it’s a duty which all trustees at Age UK Plymouth feel profoundly honoured to have.
The role of trustee can often be quite an invisible one. It’s best practice for Trustees not to hold any other positions within a charity. I personally started volunteering with Age UK Plymouth eight years ago as a befriender and at times I do miss that personal connection with our beneficiaries. But through the feedback we receive from David and his Senior Management Team we really appreciate the amazing services that are delivered by our staff and volunteers. It’s been an incredibly challenging few years for the charity so we couldn’t be prouder of where we are now and optimistic as to what the future holds.
The Short-Term Care Centre, along with the opportunities this brings in developing new services and partnerships, gives us a fantastic foundation on which to build. This alongside our incredibly important long-standing services such as Help at Home, the Day Care Centre, our Dementia Day Care Centre and of course Information & Advice, amongst others, means it’s a fantastically exciting time to be involved with Age UK Plymouth.
Being a trustee of Age UK Plymouth provides us with a privileged position inside our amazing charity and allows us to see just how important all of the hard work and dedication shown by our staff really is.
Here at Age UK Plymouth we would like to take the opportunity to thank our Board of Trustees for their ongoing support. New endeavours within the charity including the Short Term Care Centre and Discharge Service would not have been possible without the steadfast support of this group of volunteers.
Meet our trustees
Patron: Dame Janet Fookes DBE, DL
Trustees
All of our trustees are volunteers and give their valuable time and energy in the strategic planning and direction of the charity. The Executive Committee meet six times a year.
There are various sub-committees and special interest groups that are also held throughout the year focusing on different topics. These are investments, finance, care services, support services and training. Many of our trustees are members of one or more of these groups.
Benny Wright's first volunteer role within Age UK Plymouth was as a Befriender where he encountered first-hand the twin evils of an underfunded adult social care system and the chronic loneliness that some older people in our community suffer. It also became starkly clear how important small local charities like ours are in delivering services to tackle loneliness and to help the older people of Plymouth live active lives. Benny says: "Plymouth is a wonderful city, but like all cities the most vulnerable are beset by many challenges. When my befriending role came to an end, I wanted to put to best use my experience and commitment to help the amazing people working at Age UK Plymouth further the charity’s role within our local communities in facilitating active and happy living for those in later life."
Elizabeth Bombieri is a member of The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, with over thirty years of experience in the NHS. Elizabeth settled in Plymouth in 1995 and is the former Falls Service Lead for Livewell Southwest. Elizabeth is committed to Age UK Plymouth's mission of making Plymouth a great place to grow old in; she intends to use her clinical and organisational experience to promote and support the work being undertaken by Age UK Plymouth, to enable the independence,dignity and wellbeing of those in later life. In her spare time Elizabeth enjoys hiking, travelling and reading.
Dr Stephen Hobbs FRCS matriculated at St John’s College Cambridge in 1969 to read Medical Sciences then moved to the Westminster Hospital in 1972 for clinical studies, after qualification he worked in Bath and Cambridge before moving to Plymouth in 1987 when he started as a General Practitioner. As a Principal at the Stirling Road Practice in St Budeaux, where he worked for 24 years before retiring in 2011, he has a wealth of knowledge on the medical and social issues that can impact on people’s health and wellbeing as they age. Stephen is an experienced Trustee having previously been on the Board of Trustees of St Luke’s Hospice for six years and he is committed to supporting Age UK Plymouth in their vision that ‘everyone should be able to enjoy a good quality of Later Life’. During his leisure time he likes walking, travelling, gardening and photography, all of which he enjoys with his wife Sue.
Peter Burroughs is a qualified accountant with over 50 years experience in the National Health Service and the Charity sector and has served over 30 years at senior executive and non–executive Board level as Strategic Development Director, Finance Director and Chief Executive. Peter was responsible for the completion and commissioning of the new £450M University College Hospital, one of the largest and most complex teaching and research hospitals to be built under the Government’s Private Finance Initiative. Peter also served as Financial Advisor to the University College London Hospitals Charities managing assets of £100M and on retirement from the UCLH NHS Foundation Trust Board in March 2006 took up the part-time post of Development Director to the University College London Hospitals Charity. Following a move to the West Country in July 2006, he was appointed a Trustee of the Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education to advise on the financial management of the institution and the redevelopment and building of a new school and college and during the term of office served as Chairman of the Finance and Resources Committee and latterly Chair of the Charity up to the end of his term of office in August 2020. Peter was also appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust in April 2009 and served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Trust Board for a period of 4 years.
Nicky Watt has worked in Human Resources and Business Operations for over thirty years with a career spanning Private, Public and 3rd Sector Organisations. Having relocated from Scotland to Plymouth in 2015 Nicky currently works with Babcock as a Senior HR Business Partner supporting International Growth.
Freyja Thomson has worked in Public and Community Engagement for the past four years with Ocean Conservation Trust, the charity that runs and operates the National Marine Aquarium. After living in Plymouth as a child Freyja returned to the city to attend university in 2014 and has loved living in Britain’s Ocean City ever since.
