The Orrell Trust had been looking for a Treasurer for 3 years without success before approaching Charterpath for help in February 2022. It took us a few months but Chris spotted the role and after a thorough interview process was appointed by the Board. They were absolutely delighted to find such a high calibre candidate. We caught up with Chris to hear more about his experience.

What inspired you to start volunteering - was there a specific moment or event that motivated you?

I wanted to volunteer in this way because it would allow me to use my skills in a new context, help a charitable cause and enrich my own career experience in the process. I was therefore really excited when I heard about the opportunity at the Orrell Trust. I felt like my skills and experience would be useful to the trust and the location meant that I would be able to meet the team in person.

What do you enjoy most about this new volunteer role? 

One of the best things about my role so far has been seeing the groups and projects that are being supported by the trust. The board meetings happen at the centre where all the activities take place, which has given me the chance to see the charity in action. It has helped put all the decisions being made in the meetings into perspective.

How have your finance skills come into play? 

I've been able to use my finance skills to good effect in terms of providing the board with the key facts around certain decisions and I hope to do more of this in future. For example, building a cash flow forecast would really help the trust and I'm looking forward to working on this with the team.

If you had to sum up your volunteering experience in one word what would it be?

Rewarding!