Trustees’ Week is annual event to showcase the great work trustees do for charities up and down the UK.
There are just over 1 million trustees in the UK and here at Emmaus North East we’re lucky to have a supportive and dedicated board who bring a variety of skills and experience to help steer our work and develop our charity.
Our trustees meet as a board a number times a year. They each play a vital leadership role in our charity, working together to make important decisions and taking strategic responsibility for our work supporting people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion.
To mark this important week, we thought we’d hear from one of our lovely trustees, Gemma, about why she decided to become a trustee for Emmaus North East.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background Gemma…
Hello, my name is Gem Trainor and I work in communications and marketing, basically, I get to tell all the nice stories about organisations to employees and customers (there are lots of other elements but this is my favourite!).
I studied Public Relations at the University of Sunderland and then started my career working in PR and Marketing agencies in and around the North East. I moved in-house to a global paint and coatings company for a decade before moving to a multinational telecommunications company followed by a circular economy focused start up. I’m currently Head of Marketing & Communications at an industrial solutions provider where I’m leading a small but, if I do say so myself, perfectly formed team doing some great work. Outside of work I’m Mam (not Mum!) to two little people aged 10 and 7, my main role there is to provide endless taxi services, baking of cakes, and providing a regular supply of cuddles (my favourite bit).
How did you first hear about Emmaus North East?
I first heard of Emmaus North East in 2013 when one of my previous bosses (shout out to Mr Andrew Wood) became a trustee for the charity. During our breaks at work Andrew talked passionately about this great charity he was involved with and how it was going to make a real difference to homeless people in our area: not through handouts but by giving them a reason to get up in the morning, and supporting them to move out of the community if and when they were ready. During his time on the board the charity was able to welcome its very first companions after purchasing 257 Stanhope Road and I remember being so impressed with what they had achieved in a relatively short space of time.
Fast forward a couple of years, I was no longer working with Andrew and he’d moved away so was no longer able to support the charity. I was travelling a lot for work: I was flying into Amsterdam or London at least once a week and was encountering more and more homeless people on my journeys. Travelling as a lone female who was often on a tight schedule I felt compelled to help in some way but was nervous about just providing money, I didn’t want to enable any addictions. I saw an advert for a Trustee role with Emmaus North East and applied immediately. I’ll have been with Emmaus North East for four years this coming February, I’m now our longest serving trustee second only to our Chair John Machin. We’ve been through some challenging times (let’s not talk about Covid!) but I’m proud of the team we have in place and the work that we’re doing.
What are you most looking forward to achieving/ or what have you achieved so far as a trustee at Emmaus North East?
I’ve been honoured over the years to sit with many of our companions and hear their stories first-hand: people don’t choose to be homeless and understanding the often complex and challenging set of circumstances that have resulted in them not having a place to call home is a real eye opener. As the cost of living crisis is getting worse we’re sadly going to see more and more people impacted by poverty resulting in poor physical and mental health. These people who are just like you and me could, without the right support services in place, find themselves without a roof over their heads. My ambition for Emmaus North East is firstly that we increase our capacity so we’re able to welcome more people. Secondly, one of the most important parts of the Emmaus ethos is solidarity – helping those less fortunate than yourself: we’ve supported our local community with many initiatives over the years but I’m keen to develop this more and see how we can make a difference in the North East – we have lots of ideas around this and can’t wait to share them when we’re able.
Can you sum up what Emmaus means in one sentence?
Giving people the help I’d want to receive if I was down on my luck: a home, a friendly face, a reason for being, and help to get back onto my feet again.
What is your best second-hand purchase?
I love flowers and have picked up some beautiful vases from Emmaus over the years. My whole family are involved with Emmaus and regularly do big clear-outs of items (best time is now to get the kids to clear some space of toys ready for Santa coming!) and my children love it when they take their items into the shop. Warning, I do end up coming out with more items than we’ve taken in sometimes as there’s so many things they want to buy!
What are your favourite places in and around North East?
We’re so lucky to live near the sea so as a family we’re often down at the sea front going for walks, playing in the sand (we do love digging holes!), or swimming. I go sea swimming with a group of friends once a week year round, sun, rain and snow – it’s good for both your physical and mental health and I’d recommend it to anyone!
What’s your favourite quote?
“What do you want be when you grow up?” “Kind” said the boy – Taken from The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse… such a fantastic book!