By Reverend Roger Carr-Jones (Chair of the Board of Trustees)
Picture opposite: Roger Carr-Jones with his wife Jackie who is also a Marriage Care volunteer
As we turn our attention to the board and finding new members to join us in our mission to support couples – in the good times and bad – we asked our Chair, Reverend Roger Carr-Jones, to share his experience of volunteering as a Trustee with Marriage Care:
‘’For me, being a trustee has been as much about receiving, as it is about contributing my skills and experience. I have learnt much about myself as I have of my fellow trustee’s giftedness. It is a role in which you discover your own hidden talents and nurture those of others. This has enabled us, as a Board, to arrive at solutions, which working singularly would not be achieved. Being a trustee requires commitment and a willingness to put in some hard work in order that the organisation can grow and flourish. As the Chair, getting the right combination of skills and acknowledging contributions is key.
Being a trustee has been a time of personal growth, not least in working with my fellow trustees to respond to the challenges of the pandemic and its consequences. This has meant us learning to work differently as an organisation and a Board. In navigating these challenges, we learnt how our combined skill-sets make a difference.
For me, it has been the opportunity to discover that my skills, experience and life experience add one part to the whole. It has been the discovery that each of my fellow trustees is wonderfully unique and that its our combination of different talents that makes us complete. I am passionate about the difference Marriage Care makes to the lives of couples and society as a whole in providing a much-needed voice to support the centrality of marriage for the good of society and how sustaining stable relationships makes a difference.
Discovering that contributing my expertise makes a difference has been invigorating and affirming. This has helped me to give my best in making decisions on behalf of the organisation, to know that my involvement is an important cog. As trustees, we have to be willing to roll up our sleeves, learn from our mistakes and the contributions of others to build a sustainable model for the next stage of Charity’s story – an ongoing joy!’’
Marriage Care are inviting those interested in joining them in the Trustee role to visit their webpage to find out more: Become a Trustee – Marriage Care
There are also other roles such as marriage preparation course facilitator and qualified relationship counsellor, and admin and support roles – these can be explored at Marriage Care’s volunteer webpage: Get involved | volunteer | donate | support (marriagecare.org.uk)