Volunteering Matters appoints new Chair

The national volunteering charity Volunteering Matters (formerly known as CSV) has announced the appointment of Anne Heal as the new Chair of its trustees’ council.  Anne will be taking over in December 2015 from Sir Jon Shortridge, who is stepping down after serving as Chair for six years.

Anne has spent many years in the world of strategy and regulation; as BT’s regulatory affairs director she negotiated the creation of Openreach, BT’s network business, enabling greater choice for telecoms consumers and increasing industry confidence. She currently leads BT’s volunteering activity – doubling employee participation under her stewardship. She is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School, Chair of Thames Water’s Customer Challenge Group, a board member of Ofqual, trustee of Ballet Boyz and a Co-Chair of Unicorn School governors.

Anne said: “I am delighted to be joining Volunteering Matters at such an exciting stage in its 53 year history. The contribution that volunteering makes to our society and the positive impact it has for the individuals who volunteer has never been more important. I am greatly looking forward to supporting and helping shape the charity’s work ahead”

Sir Jon Shortridge said: “It has been a pleasure to serve my two terms of office as chair of this remarkable charity. In that time we have refined our strategic direction, updated our identity to better reflect what we do and ensured we are recognised as one of the UK’s leading volunteering charities. In Anne Volunteering Matters has a fantastic  new chair and champion, and I look forward to seeing and supporting her work in the years ahead.”

Volunteering Matters’ Chief Executive Oonagh Aitken added:  “We’d like to thank Sir Jon Shortridge for six years of dedication to the organisation, steering  us with great leadership to where we are now.  We are extremely impressed by Anne, her understanding of Volunteering Matters and its potential and are looking forward to working with her  in the future.  She has an exceptional track record of strategic leadership and a passion for volunteering which will make for a fantastic Chair of our trustees’ council.”

ENDS

 For press enquiries please contact Amanda Francis at Volunteering Matters, amanda.francis@volunteringmatters.org.uk / 020 3780 5880 / 07754698854

 Notes to Editors

 Volunteering Matters, formerly known as CSV, is a national charity leading UK volunteering in policy and practice. We believe that everyone can play a role in their community and should have the chance to participate; we build volunteering projects and programmes to reflect this. We focus on the needs of four distinct communities; older and retired people, disabled people, vulnerable families and young people. We engage over 35,000 volunteers every year, and currently have 150 active programmes across the UK. For more information please visit:

www.volunteeringmattters.org.uk