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The second national Trustees' Week will run this year from Monday 31st October - 6th November following on from the success in 2010 of the first national campaign dedicated to raising awareness of trusteeship.

Trustees' Week 2011 will celebrate the fantastic work of existing trustees and aim to increase awareness and understanding of the trustee role. Part of the campaign will encourage existing trustees to send photos and video clips of themselves and their boards to be posted on the Trustees' Week website saying why they became a trustee and what they enjoy about it.

Last year more than 30 events were run under the Trustees' Week banner up and down the country. More than 40 MPs signed the supportive Parliamentary Early Day Motion as well as providing supportive quotes and press releases, and the Trustees' Week website received 21,000 page views. One of TW2010 partners, Reach, saw a near 20% increase in visitors to their website as a result.

The week is again organised by the Charity Commission in partnership with Charity Trustee Network, recently merged with the Small Charities Coalition, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Reach Volunteering, Getting on Board, ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales), Governance magazine and the National Unions of Students (NUS).

Beth Murray, is a 26-year old PR Account Director and trustee of the charity Bag Books, a charity that produces multi-sensory stories for people with profound learning disabilities. She said:
"It's incredibly important to raise awareness of trusteeship. Becoming a trustee means people are able to share their professional skills with the charities that really need their help. Being a trustee for Bag Books has widened my eyes to see the whole of society, and allows me to feel that in however small a way, I'm ‘doing my bit' for people around me. Plus, I've met some really excellent people in the process!"

Martin Jervis, Chair of Trustees of the charity Thames Hospicecare, which provides palliative care for adults with cancer and other life limiting illnesses said:
"For me Trustees' Week makes a big difference from two perspectives. As Chair of a wonderful charity it's great to have visibility for the sector overall - so we can continue to attract top notch trustees. And I'm pretty sure, that deep down, the publicity it attracts reminds me and my colleagues just how proud we are to be Trustees, and for that week, maybe, we feel even more motivated and rewarded by our work."

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, said: "Trustees play an essential role in charities, driving the direction and activity of the organisation. With so many charities with trustee positions vacant we need to do more to increase understanding of this very special way of volunteering. Trustees are hugely committed individuals who use their time and knowledge to make a difference. Trustees' Week again acknowledges the massive contribution trustees make, and working with the Trustees' Week partners we aim to build on last year's success to make sure even more people are aware of what trusteeship is all about."

Whilst there are around 800,000 trustees in England and Wales, estimates suggest that almost half of charities have a vacancy on their trustee board. A number of the organisations behind Trustees' Week provide trustee matching services, details of these can be found at http://www.trusteesweek.org.uk/.

The Trustees' Week website will be updated regularly in the run-up to 31st October with information about the campaign and details of events and activities planned by charities and other organisations. If you are organising a Trustees' Week event or if you are a trustee and would be willing to be a case study, please email trusteesweek@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk

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Source: Charity Commission