To mark Trustees' Week, we spoke to Neil Davies, who joined Volunteer Centre Sutton's board of trustees in 2021. Neil had recently retired as a partner at KPMG, the international professional services practice, where he specialised in supporting M & A transactions in the Media, Leisure and Telecoms sectors and held a number of senior management positions. He is a qualified accountant and has lived in the Borough since childhood. Married with two children, away from work he is a keen runner and golfer and is a hockey umpire for one of our local clubs.

His involvement with Volunteer Centre Sutton started as a volunteer at Nonsuch Park on the Covid Vaccination programme. Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience and seen the worthwhile impact of our organisation in practice he was delighted to join us as a trustee. Let's hear from Neil...

How did you first hear of Volunteer Centre Sutton?

I first heard of Volunteer Centre Sutton when I signed up as a volunteer for the Covid Vaccination Programme in Nonsuch Park. I have to thank my wife who first saw the opportunity and we decided to volunteer together.

What’s your connection to Sutton?

I am a Sutton lifer having moved here with my parents at the age of one and never moved away. So far I have lived in eight different properties in the Borough and both my children were born in St Helier Hospital and went to school locally.

What inspired you to become a Trustee?

Having been lucky enough to be able to retire, I was keen to find opportunities to continue to use my skillset partly to keep the grey cells working and also to maintain the high levels of social interaction that I was used to. While it may sound like a cliche, there was also a desire to ‘give something back’ to the community that has supported my family and I for so long.

Why did you choose Volunteer Centre Sutton?

One of the Volunteer coordinators mentioned on a shift that they were looking for additional trustees and things just went from there. Two things that attracted me to Volunteer Centre Sutton were the local focus of its work and the programmes which work with children. I also felt I had something to contribute which might be useful.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about becoming a Trustee?

Just go for it. I think people may believe that you need some preexisting deep seated skill set but in fact a complete range of attributes are needed across a Board of Trustees (and in particular common sense!) and everybody has something of value to bring to the table.      

Want to know more about becoming a Trustee? Download "Becoming a Trustee: the why, what and how" presentation created by Reach Volunteering, the leading skills-based volunteering charity. 

If you would like to find out about current vacancies for Trustees in and around Sutton, or if you are a group or organisation seeking new Trustees, there are many ways we can help you with recruitment please contact hello@vcsutton.org.uk.