{"id":5022,"date":"2024-06-04T08:35:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T07:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/?p=5022"},"modified":"2024-06-04T08:35:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T07:35:13","slug":"from-trustee-to-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/from-trustee-to-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"From Trustee to Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For the next inspiring story celebrating our staff in the community, we hear from <strong>Lauren Rabbatts<\/strong>, who, in addition to her role as <strong>Head of Strategic Initiatives &amp; Partnerships for the Department of Enterprise and Engagement<\/strong>, dedicates some of her spare time serving the community as volunteer Water Safety Officer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (<a href=\"https:\/\/rnli.org\/\" title=\"\">RNLI<\/a>) and Chair of the Board of Directors for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.children-families.org\/\" title=\"\">Children &amp; Families Limited (C&amp;F)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this blog, we delve into Lauren&#8217;s experience specifically with C&amp;F, her motivations, and the invaluable contributions she has made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tell us a bit about the role and organisation<\/strong>&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It is my honour to be the current Chair of the Board of Directors for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.children-families.org\/\" title=\"\">Children &amp; Families Limited (C&amp;F)<\/a>, a role I have held for 7 years. C&amp;F is a Kent charity based in Swale and consists of 4 separate companies, in three main strands: Child &amp; Family Services, Food Services and Early Education &amp; Childcare. The companies or projects under each theme are listed below and all support the Mission of the charity:&nbsp; \u2018Working together to give children and families the best opportunities in life\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"823\" height=\"567\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-10.png 823w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-10-300x207.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-10-768x529.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What do you think you have learnt\/gained from the role?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It was a learning experience from day one; learning how to analyse the monthly accounts, setting budgets, offering strategic oversight without getting drawn into the nitty-gritty, how to assess risk and make sure the charity meets the principles of good governance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What do you think you have brought to the Governing Board (your skills, expertise, etc<\/strong>)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This is probably a question to ask my CEO, however from my perspective I bring leadership to the Board of Directors, particularly in developing, sustaining and managing partnerships at a senior level within the education and public sectors. I also have proven commercial sector experience, through the leadership and oversight of the social enterprise functions of <a href=\"https:\/\/fareshare.org.uk\/fareshare-centres\/kent\/\" title=\"\">FareShare Kent.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>From your time as a Trustee, what has been your highlight\/most memorable moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"359\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5030\" style=\"width:322px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-11.png 359w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-11-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 359px) 100vw, 359px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Seeing the charity grow and flourish to become one of the foremost children\u2019s charities and the largest surplus food redistribution charity in Kent. This is reflected in the success of C&amp;F at local and national charity awards events.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-14.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-14.png 320w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-14-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Lauren\u2019s journey from Trustee to Chair exemplifies the profound symbiotic impact dedicated volunteers can have on their communities. We are #cccuproud!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-13.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-13.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-13-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/image-13-768x329.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p><br><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lauren\u2019s journey from Trustee to Chair exemplifies the profound symbiotic impact that dedicated volunteers can have on their communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265102,"featured_media":5054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,22,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cccu-connect","category-connect","category-volunteering"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"Abbie-Rose Rigden","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/cccuconnect\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/710\/2024\/05\/blog-banner-1200-628-13.png","postExcerpt":"Lauren\u2019s journey from Trustee to Chair exemplifies the profound symbiotic impact that dedicated volunteers can have on their communities. 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