Connections…. ‘Making a difference’!

I don’t know about you but there is a real sense amongst many Hastings people that I’ve met in the last few weeks that there is a desire to want to give; to make a difference; to give something back so to speak. Often this is a matter of giving up ones free time, volunteering to contribute something to our local community for the greater good and to help people less fortunate or less experienced.

One of the greatest needs of many community groups is for experienced and committed trustees. Let me tell you about one such charity, the Sara Lee Trust, who provide creative therapies for those living through serious illnesses. The Trust had a need for a trustee with secretarial skills for their board and I was pleased to be able to introduce Michael Lear, who chairs the board, to Tracey Bartlett…. Tracey runs her own business, providing support for other microbiz sized companies, and had the ideal skill set to meet the requirements of the Sara Lee Trust’s board. Now a trustee, I’m sure Tracey will ‘make a difference’. I’ve recently spoken with two other professional ‘volunteers’ who are considering (it’s a two way thing) trustee roles within community groups. Do get in touch if you’d like to explore being a trustee.

Readers of my column will have become familiar with the Education Futures Trust (EFT); another connection requiring a regular commitment that has and will make a real difference to EFT is the inputting of data into their book-keeping system by Sally Sidgwick of Fletcher Business Services. Sally is proving much needed pro-bono support that in essence has allowed the limited EFT staff more time to focus on the education needs of the Trust.

But sometimes community groups do need to help themselves, which is why I’m delighted that as many as 20+ groups have responded to an invitation to attend a social media training session, generously offered by social media experts, Talkative Online being held at the good offices of FSN on 11 April. By improving social media skills, community groups will be able to improve their profile enhancing the opportunity for membership and donations etc… there are a few places remaining so do get in touch if you’d like to attend.

Ian Noble can be contacted at [email protected] or 07801 250668. You can follow on twitter @TN34Connector