Become a Trustee

Become a Home-Start Trustee and help parents build better lives for their children in your community.

There are parents near you who are struggling to cope and support the children they love so much.

Become a Home-Start Trustee and you can make a powerful difference to their lives. Use your experience and skills to guide and oversee our support service for young families going through difficult times.

You'll get so much back.

What skills our Trustees need

Our Trustees come from all walks of life, bringing their experience and individual skills to their local schemes.

The kind of skills that are in demand are:

business skills
personnel management
finance
fundraising
information technology
communications

But you don't need special qualifications to be a special Trustee. The following are just as important to us:

common sense
an ability to work as part of a team
an understanding of the pressures facing parents today
and a genuine interest in supporting parents in your community

Why Home-Start needs more Trustees
You can't build a house without foundations. So it doesn't matter how many home-visiting volunteers we have helping to improve family's day-to-day lives - without volunteer Trustees our Home-Start Schemes would lack management, direction and cohesion.

What Trustees do for Home-Start

What is a Home-Start Trustee?

A Home-Start Trustee is a volunteer who sits on the Trustee Board of a local Home-Start scheme. Each scheme is an independent charity and being a Trustee is all about the governance of that charity - making sure things are done, but not necessarily doing them.

Trustees are responsible for:

making the charity effective
providing overall direction
maintaining sound management of funds

Without volunteer Trustees Home-Start schemes couldn't function and both families and children wouldn't get the support they need.

Being a Trustee can be hard work, but it is also rewarding, giving many chances for personal development and the chance to give something back to your local community.

What does a Board of Trustees do?

The Board of Trustees is responsible for:

the scheme's vision
leading strategic direction
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
the performance and quality of the scheme
ensuring that the scheme operates within the Home-Start Agreement
the scheme's property
financial management and security
good governance
the promotion of Home-Start
employing staff

Their job is to ensure that the resources in the chartiiy are used effectivelyto further the objects of Home-Start and for the purpose for which they were given.

How much of my time will it take?

Around eight to ten hours a month.

If you take on additional committments, as a chair or treasurer, you will probably increase the amount of time you spend on behalf of the scheme - but you will be supported all the way with full induction and training, the support of scheme staff, and ongoing training. You will also be supported by Home-Start UK, which exists to provide information, support and guidance to Home-Start schemes.

What Trustees gain from Home-Start

Trustees volunteer because they want to improve the lives of parents and children around them.

What they get back is the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped make a real difference within their community.

In many cases, being a Trustee can:

enhance an individual's skills and knowledge
build confidence
give opportunities to network
provide many opportunities for personal development

You will have a thorough induction, be invited to regional and national training courses and events, and have the full support of scheme staff, and your fellow Trustees. You will also have the support of Home-Start UK which exists to provide information, support and guidance to Home-Start schemes.

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee for Home-Start Salford, please contact Kelly Bradford on 0161 703 7577 for an informal chat

An Equal Opportunities Organisation
Registered Charity Number: 1068611
Patron: HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO

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