At YMCA Taunton, we’re incredibly grateful to our dedicated team of trustees who volunteer their time and expertise to help guide our charity. They meet every two months to review our progress, shape our plans, and make sure we stay true to our mission of supporting young people and the wider community.
Our trustees do far more than attend meetings — they’re true champions for YMCA Taunton. You’ll often find them helping out at events, cheering on our fundraising efforts, and offering advice and encouragement to our staff and volunteers. Their support behind the scenes helps make everything we do possible.
We caught up with one of our trustees, Gari, to find out more about his role.
Why I became a trustee at YMCA Taunton
Most people are surprised when I tell them I used to go to the YMCA in Taunton as a boy, the exact same one I’m now a trustee for.
Back then, it was more than just a place to hang out. It was a refuge. Somewhere to go when home wasn’t so easy. Somewhere to talk, laugh, just be. A place that gave me space to breathe. Later in life, I even found myself living in a YMCA when I had nowhere else to go. So you could say my connection runs deep.
I became a trustee not to “give back,” necessarily, but to keep something important alive. To help make sure the support I once received is still there for someone else who might need it.
If you’re thinking about becoming a trustee, even just for a year or two, know this: your lived experience, whatever that looks like, matters. You bring something no one else can. And that could make all the difference.
Behind the scenes: what YMCA trustees actually do
A lot of people hear the word trustee and think: legal documents, financial reports, boardroom jargon. The truth? It’s way more human than that.
Being a trustee at YMCA Taunton means asking the right questions to help shape the future. It means understanding what our CEO and team need and being a sounding board, a reality check, a supporter. It’s about balance. Our board is like a team: different skills, different backgrounds, but all working toward one goal, helping our community thrive.
Sometimes that means reviewing budgets. Other times, it means helping get donated rugs to the right place or celebrating how many families picked up fresh bread from the food pantry that week.
You don’t have to be a policy expert. You just have to care and show up with your skills, your experience, and a willingness to listen.
The biggest misconception about being a trustee
That you have to be a certain type of person.
People often think you need a specific qualification or background to be a trustee. But at YMCA Taunton, the value comes from our differences. Some of us bring finance experience. Others bring marketing know-how. I bring a bit of digital thinking, business acumen, and most importantly the memory of what it’s like to be someone who needed the YMCA.
The board works best when it’s like a football team everyone playing a different position but united by purpose. Your role could be strategy, safeguarding, fundraising, or just knowing when to ask the question no one else has asked.
So if you’re unsure whether you’d be the “right” kind of trustee… you probably are. And we probably need you.
Could you be a YMCA Taunton trustee?
Being a trustee is about using your skills and experience to make a difference. You don’t need any special qualifications — just a passion for helping people and a willingness to be part of a supportive team. Trustees attend meetings roughly every two months, contribute to discussions, and help ensure the charity is well-run and making an impact where it’s needed most.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming a trustee, we’d love to hear from you.
Please get in touch with us or visit the Spark-a-Change website for more information.
