Volunteering as a Trustee at Richmond Borough Mind

In this guest blog, Kim Tasso talks about the Richmond CVS and volunteering with Richmond Borough Mind.

I have run my own small business in Richmond for over 30 years. I am still busy but my family is grown up now. I wanted to “give something back” by donating some time to an important cause.

I noticed that there were regular events organised by Richmond CVS where you have the opportunity to talk informally to people from a variety of local charities about different types of volunteering activities. I actually write regularly to a local senior citizen as a result of one of those conversations. As I trained as a psychologist and have a particular interest in mental health I had a chat with the chair of trustees and the CEO of Richmond Borough Mind (RBMind) at one of those events. With some trepidation – as I wasn’t sure whether I could make a contribution – I signed up to apply. I was invited to a friendly discussion with the CEO where I learned more about the charity and the role, a more formal interview and then some background checks so it took a few months before I officially became a Trustee.

There was a steep learning curve at the start. I read a lot of material about national Mind and also RBMind. Then an existing Trustee spent a couple of hours with me and three other prospective Trustees explaining some of the detail. RCVS also provides excellent free training sessions for new Trustees – so I spent two evenings learning about how to be a Trustee at a local college. It was great to meet many different people from so many walks of life who had signed up to be Trustees at other Richmond charities. It’s incredible the range and diversity of voluntary organisations here.

As a trustee, you can do as much as you feel able to. Sometimes I have more time available than at other times – depending on my workload. As a minimum, I have to read the papers to prepare for Board meetings which take place every two months. I also volunteered to be part of the Finance Committee so I also attend those meetings. We have great people chairing those meetings so they are focused and productive and run to time. There are also one or two other areas where I have become involved – you sort of offer to help when you think the time and task is right for you. It feels more than being part of the team with other Trustees and managers – it’s like being part of another family as they are so friendly and supportive with each other.

One of the things that I enjoy is working with the full-time staff at Richmond Borough Mind. The management team are such dedicated people. It is humbling but satisfying to know that in some small way I might be assisting them as they try to help so many people in the Borough with their mental health issues – whether that is by providing counselling services, setting up peer groups, running activities where people can develop friends or teaching kids at schools how to maintain their emotional wellbeing.

We also have the managers who lead the different services come along to Board meetings to describe their particular areas of work. Again, these are great people doing important work and it makes it very real to hear their accounts of the charities’ work from the front-line. We then have to work as Trustees to ensure that the funds are available to enable them to continue and extend their good work.

Another aspect of the role that I particularly enjoy is attending various events where RBMind and other charities promote themselves to the funders, local authority officers or the general public. I am there to wave the flag – acting as a kind of Ambassador for RBMind. But I really enjoy working with our volunteers. Much of RBMind’s work is about empowering people who have experienced mental health problems to help themselves and, when they are recovered, to then help others. Some of the stories I have heard from these people are truly inspiring. There are quite a few people who started out using RBMind’s services, then became volunteers running activity groups and then became employees, demonstrating how well people can recover from even severe mental health issues. That’s a life changing transformation for those individuals and it’s incredibly powerful when they share that story with people in the midst of their own mental health challenge. It brings real hope.

Kim Tasso, Trustee of Richmond Borough Mind https://www.rbmind.org/

For general information on volunteering and local opportunities, take a look at www.richmondcvs.org.uk.