Are you aged 16-25 and grew up around Hammersmith and Fulham? WEST Youth Zone is looking for Associate Trustees to join our Board. You don’t need to know anything about how a charity is run to apply, you just need to be passionate about our mission to provide young people with life changing support and opportunities.
What is WEST?
WEST Youth Zone is a charity which will provide a safe, inspiring, and affordable place to go for thousands of young people in the evenings and at weekends. The state-of-the art facility developed as part of the OnSide network is due to open in Spring 2023. The name WEST was chosen by local young people and stands for Where Everyone Sticks Together.
What is a charity Trustee?
Every charity is run by a Board of Trustees, they meet several times throughout the year and make sure the charity is running as well as it can be. They are usually volunteers and their role is to ask lots of questions, make long term plans for the future and ensure the charity is being run well day-to-day by the CEO. You can read more about Trustees here Become a trustee | Reach Volunteering
What is an Associate Trustee?
An Associate Trustee is really a trustee in training! WEST is looking for a small group of Associate Trustees to join us for a year. You will do everything a trustee would do, but you won’t take on legal responsibility for the charity in your time as an Associate Trustee. You will also be paired up with a current Trustee who will make sure you get all the support you need to take part.
What would I gain as an Associate Trustee?
This is your chance to make a big difference to your community and have your voice heard. You will also develop lots of great professional skills and experience. You will get plenty of training and support to make the most of the opportunity. Being a trustee is an excellent addition to your CV and the other trustees and senior team of WEST are a really useful network of professionals for you to get to know. By the end of your year as an Associate, you should have all the skills you need to step into a trustee role with any charity!
What makes a good Trustee?
A good Trustee is someone who is passionate about the cause of the charity, always curious to ask questions, and willing to help whenever they can. Some people might have a specific role on the Board, for example the Treasurer keeps a close eye on the finances. But you don’t need any particular background, training or experience to be a Trustee and the strongest charity boards are the ones with a wide range of skills and perspectives.
Why are you looking for people aged 16-25 and why do they have to be local?
WEST is a charity working for young people in Hammersmith and Fulham, our building is in White City. One of our mottos is ‘it’s about opportunity’ and we want to make sure local young people are at the heart of all our decisions. A young person who lives or has grown up in the area will have a lot of knowledge about the issues facing local young people, that the other people on the Board might not have.
What is the commitment?
- Coming to 6 Board meetings across the year. If you think you will need support to make this possible, let us know.
- 1:1s with a board member or the CEO to go through the agenda before each board meeting and ask any questions or get support.
- Acting as a positive ambassador for WEST outside board meetings
- Being keen to learn, ask questions and take advantage of some of the opportunities that you will get, e.g. training
Why can’t a young person be a ‘full trustee’?
There is no reason why a young person can’t be a ‘full’ trustee, although in most cases they would need to be 18. By recruiting for Associate Trustees we want to make the WEST board as accessible as possible – and make it clear to those who join us that they will get all the extra support they need. For some people the legal responsibility of becoming a trustee right away is intimidating, so we wanted to take that out of the picture. However, our trustee board will naturally change over time as people step down, so if you feel ready to take that step up to being a ‘full’ trustee right away, definitely get in touch and we will let you know when there is a vacancy that you can apply for!
How can I apply?
To apply for this opportunity, please tell us a little bit about yourself, such as the following:
- Name and age
- Your connection to the local area around WEST
- Why you are interested in getting in involved
Please email this info to elanor.gunn@westyouthzone.org or Whatsapp it to 07751746325. You can type it out or send a voice note, or video. We will then get back to you to arrange for you to meet for a chat with one of the WEST team. Please get this information to us before Friday 8th September.
