Gabrielle Kruger

1. First of all, about you: what attracted you to becoming a chair/trustee?

I was always someone who volunteered for charity work (including standing at Leicester Square tube station with a polystyrene daffodil on my head to collect money for Marie Curie Cancer Care!) but over the past few years had been unable to find a way to do so that would also fit around my work and home commitments. Becoming a trustee seemed like the best and most manageable way to do this.

2. Which organisation(s) do you represent?

Camden Citizens Advice Bureau.

3. What particularly attracted you to these organisations?

I wanted to offer my services to a community of which I had been an active part. I also felt that my experience in corporate HR and internal communications would mean I had something specific to contribute.

4. Is there anything that would make you an even more effective trustee/Chair?

I would very much appreciate more London-based training.

5. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in your role?

When you are coming to anything new, it all seems like a challenge. I have been so impressed by the dedication of both my fellow trustees and the staff at CCAB – my challenge is really to live up to their examples.

6. What do you consider the most satisfying aspect of your role?

The hope that I may be helping (in whatever small part) to make CCAB both a useful and efficient service for the community, and a good and supportive place for both volunteers and paid staff to work.

7. Do you think there is enough general recognition of the value of the trustee/Chair role?

Yes.

8. (If you have  been a trustee/Chair for some time)
Have you felt that the demands made on trustees/Chairs have grown over time?

9. What do you think is the ideal term of office that a trustee/Chair should serve?

I do not feel that I have been a trustee long enough to make such a judgement, but certainly a minimum of two years is needed in order to gain sufficient understanding of the role and organisation to be effective.

10. What tip would you give to a new trustee?

Read everything you can find on your organisation, get yourself on training courses and involve yourself as much as possible in the life of the organisation. Unfortunately, my work and home commitments have meant I have not been able to do this as much as I would like and I do feel that it is therefore taking me that much longer to get up to speed.

11. If you weren’t a trustee, what would you do with that time?

I do all my work as a trustee in the evenings/night so I would probably just rest!

12. What steps do you take to increase/retain your organisation’s membership?

13. What question do you want to ask next week’s trustee?

If you had a few extra hours a week to dedicate to your trustee work, what would you use them for?

For your opportunity to answer Gabrielle's questions, please click on this link to the Forum.