Changes around a Board table always bring a moment to reflect. 

Colin Gage, one of our long-standing trustees, will soon be stepping down as they reach the end of their term. I’m incredibly grateful for the time, judgement and commitment he has given to Community Action, and for everything he has brought to the organisation. 

As we thank Colin, we’re also looking ahead. We are looking to strengthen our board by welcoming new trustees, bringing new experience and perspectives at an important time for Community Action and the communities we work alongside. 

As we approach 80 years of working with local communities, the landscape around us is changing again. 

Local Government Reorganisation has shifted and paused. Conversations around devolution continue. And across health and care, there is a growing focus on neighbourhood health, prevention and reducing inequalities. 

For a CVS, these aren’t simply policy discussions. They have very real implications for our communities, the voluntary organisations we support and how local services work together. 

Our role is to understand what is happening on the ground and make sure that knowledge leads somewhere. 

That can mean helping a voluntary organisation become stronger and more sustainable. Bringing partners together around a shared challenge. Making sure the voluntary sector has a voice in wider conversations. Or providing practical support where we know there is a need. 

You can see that across our work. 

Our interpreting service helps people overcome language barriers. Community Transport helps people get to medical appointments. Our employability work helps people build skills, confidence and opportunities. ShopMobility and Staying Connected help people maintain independence and connection, to name just a few. 

Alongside this, we’re involved in some of the bigger issues facing our communities: neighbourhood health and prevention, employment and economic participation, digital and language inclusion, health inequalities, volunteering and the strength of the voluntary and community sector. 

And increasingly, these issues overlap. Someone struggling to find work may also be experiencing poor health, isolation, transport difficulties or digital exclusion. 

People’s lives don’t fit neatly into organisational boundaries, and our responses shouldn’t either. 

For me, that is where a strong CVS adds real value. We can see those connections, bring local knowledge into wider conversations and build the partnerships that turn that knowledge into action. 

It’s work that makes a tangible difference to people’s lives, and our trustees help shape it. 

They bring experience, ask difficult questions, challenge our thinking and help us decide where Community Action can make the greatest difference. 

What are communities telling us? What aren’t we seeing? Where could partnership achieve more? What should we be preparing for next? 

Those questions are better answered when there are different experiences and perspectives around the table. 

You don’t need to have spent your career in the voluntary sector, or to have been a trustee before. What matters is being prepared to listen, question, contribute what you know and be open to what others bring. 

You see how communities, charities, health, local government and businesses connect. You see some of the gaps, but also what becomes possible when people and organisations work together well. 

As Community Action approaches its 80th year, there is plenty of change ahead. Our next trustees will help us navigate that change while keeping us focused on what matters most: our communities and the difference we can make together. 

If you’re interested in joining our Board and helping shape Community Action’s future, our Chairman, Peter Ashman, would be pleased to hear from you at peter@communityactiondacorum.org.uk. 

And if someone comes to mind while reading this, please share it with them. 

Simon Aulton  

CEO – Community Action