For over 25 years, I have seen the life-changing outcomes that FOCUS achieves with young people. My initial involvement was as a project volunteer and what inspired me to stay involved was the lasting impact that our projects had with young people. Our projects connect with people in a powerful way, teaching them about themselves, their relationships and outlook in life.
Since my appointment as trustee in 2001, my involvement has been to bring my professional skills to the FOCUS Board. I am a certified Project Manager and Partner at IBM, so I bring skills such as strategy, finances and people management. The charitable sector is quite different from the world of Information Technology, but the principles of running an organisation are very similar.
I have seen huge change in FOCUS, although the core of running innovative, life-changing projects to inspire young people remains. We have had periods of uncertainty and I am reassured that over the last few years, we have strengthened our organisation. My hope for FOCUS over the next few years is that we continue on this trajectory, run more projects and increase the number of people we inspire across Leicester (and beyond).