Celebrating Trustee Volunteers

Trustees Week is an annual celebration that showcases the fantastic contributions of the 700,00 trustees who lead charities in Wales and England.

This year not-for-profi t organisation mirus released a series of videos that introduced some of their Trustees, and informed people about the importance of this voluntary role.

mirus operate under the guidance of their Trustees, who ensure that they continually improve the support they offer to people with learning disabilities and mental ill health in Cardiff, and across Wales. The Trustees at mirus always have the organisation’s strong core values at the heart of every decision they make, and focus on how they can benefi t staff, the people mirus support and their families.

An important message to come out of the fi lming was that anyone can become a Trustee. Charitable organisations rely on the diversity of their Trustees, and the unique perspectives and insights that they bring, to grow and shape the work they do.

mirus Trustee, Roz Waterhouse said: “You may not think you have direct skills in working with people with learning disabilities and mental ill health, but actually, there are so many different skills that we need from the Trustees. Anyone from any background is welcome, including people from roles such as HR and Finance.”

Before becoming a mirus Trustee, Roz worked as a Social Worker and frequently inspected the services that mirus provided. In her video, Roz talks about the noticeable increase in confi dence and skills demonstrated by the people supported at each six-monthly inspection. Roz really enjoyed meeting people out in the community, and once she retired she decided to become a Trustee so that she could continue to follow the journeys of people supported by mirus.

The newest Trustee to join mirus is Ben Price, who works as a Journalist for BBC Wales. In his video Ben said: “I think it’s great if everyone can get involved with an organisation like mirus and become a Trustee, because it’s a great way to learn something new, give back to the community, and help others.”

In addition to new Trustees, mirus are currently recruiting people who are passionate about making a difference to the lives of others to become paid Support Workers in Cardiff.

People supported and staff at one of our local awards events in Cardiff. People supported and staff at one of our local awards events in Cardiff. People supported and staff at one of our local awards events in Cardiff.

Kathy and Tina (people supported) - Powys Kathy and Tina (people supported) - PowysKathy and Tina (people supported) - Powys

Mary (person supported) and Sally (Area Manager) Mary (person supported) and Sally (Area Manager) Ceredigion Ceredigion – receiving an award at a local mirus – receiving an award at a local mirus awards event awards event To watch the full Trustee videos, fi nd out more about becoming a volunteer Trustee, or a paid Support Worker with mirus, you can visit their website at: www.miruswales.org.uk

Link to information about becoming a mirus Trustee: https://www.mirus-wales.org.uk/volunteer/trustee/