{"id":20265,"date":"2025-11-03T11:40:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T11:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/?p=20265"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:40:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T11:40:37","slug":"being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Being a trustee for a cause that matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<html><body><p>At Family Fund, we&rsquo;re governed by a board of trustees who donate their knowledge, skills and expertise to help us improve the lives of families raising disabled and seriously ill children.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Trustees&rsquo; Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund and how they&rsquo;re helping make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"using-experience-to-make-a-difference\">Using experience to make a difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dave, a digital, technological and data specialist with over three decades of experience, joined our Board of Trustees earlier this year. He &ldquo;wanted to find a way to use my experience to make a difference to people&rsquo;s lives.&rdquo; Becoming a trustee gave him that opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Dave-Cook.png\" alt=\"A portrait image of Dave Cook\" class=\"wp-image-19368\" style=\"width:337px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Dave-Cook.png 800w, https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Dave-Cook-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Dave-Cook-768x480.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;What drew me to Family Fund was its mission. The scale and impact of that work is incredible, and being part of a team so deeply committed to improving lives across the UK is both humbling and motivating.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;As a newer trustee, I&rsquo;m still learning how to contribute most effectively, but I&rsquo;ve already seen how important diverse perspectives are around the board table. I focus on supporting the charity through advice and guidance on technology, systems and innovation &ndash; exploring how new tools and smarter processes can help Family Fund reach even more families and work even more efficiently.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-purpose-of-being-a-trustee\">The purpose of being a trustee<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;Volunteering as a trustee has also given me a broader understanding of the challenges facing charities today, and the creativity, care and collaboration that go into overcoming them. It&rsquo;s a privilege to see the dedication of the Family Fund team first-hand and to play a small part in helping them achieve their goals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;For me, being a trustee is about service, lending your skills and energy to a cause bigger than yourself. I&rsquo;m proud to be part of a team that embodies compassion, inclusion and innovation, and I look forward to continuing to learn, contribute and help shape Family Fund&rsquo;s future.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"understanding-family-fund-s-impact\">Understanding Family Fund&rsquo;s impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For Emma, who has worked in education for 20 years, being a trustee at Family Fund &ldquo;connects deeply to both my personal and professional journey.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Trustee-Emma-Pinnock.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with black hair in a ponytail wearing a white blazer\" class=\"wp-image-3139\" style=\"width:321px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Trustee-Emma-Pinnock.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Trustee-Emma-Pinnock-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Trustee-Emma-Pinnock-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;As the mother of a unique child, I understand the real impact Family Fund has in the disability community. I know the difference that practical support can make for a family navigating daily challenges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;I make no apologies for often recalling one moment that continues to ground me: being in a family&rsquo;s home when a washing machine arrived through Family Fund&rsquo;s support. The mood in the room lifted instantly. The stress eased and hope quietly returned. That simple moment reminded me of the profound change this charity brings to families&rsquo; lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;Professionally, as a Special Educational Needs consultant, I also see every day how vital it is to empower families and ensure their children have what they need to thrive. Family Fund&rsquo;s work mirrors those same values; dignity, inclusion, and opportunity. That&rsquo;s why it means so much to be part of the trustee team.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"focus-on-the-families\">Focus on the families<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;As a board, we focus on strategy, growth, and governance, but I believe we must always stay anchored in the why: the families we serve. Being part of Family Fund during a time of reflection and growth has been incredibly rewarding, and I&rsquo;ve witnessed first-hand the dedication, compassion, and excellence of the team.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;Volunteering as a trustee has given me the chance to contribute my lived experience and professional knowledge to something truly meaningful. I&rsquo;m proud to celebrate the incredible impact Family Fund continues to have and to play even a small part in helping families feel seen, supported, and hopeful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Family Fund, we&rsquo;re governed by a board of trustees who donate their knowledge, skills and expertise to help us improve the lives of families raising disabled and seriously ill children.&nbsp; This Trustees&rsquo; Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":20268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_mixd_wp_review_post_reminders":[],"_mixd_wp_review_date":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"class_list":["post-20265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Family Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T11:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T11:40:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"comms@familyfund.org.uk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/\",\"name\":\"Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T11:40:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-03T11:40:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c22d1bf4ea7b46907b4cd4aec45afec0\"},\"description\":\"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"A group of people sitting in front of laptops around a conference table. Two people are visible on a screen, Zoomed into the meeting.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Being a trustee for a cause that matters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/\",\"name\":\"Family Fund\",\"description\":\"Helping Disabled Children\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund","description":"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund","og_description":"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/","og_site_name":"Family Fund","article_published_time":"2025-11-03T11:40:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-03T11:40:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"comms@familyfund.org.uk","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/","url":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/","name":"Being a trustee for a cause that matters - Family Fund","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-03T11:40:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-03T11:40:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c22d1bf4ea7b46907b4cd4aec45afec0"},"description":"This Trustees\u2019 Week, we spoke to two of our fantastic trustees, Dave Cook and Emma Pinnock, about what brought them to Family Fund.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC00142-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"A group of people sitting in front of laptops around a conference table. Two people are visible on a screen, Zoomed into the meeting."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/being-a-trustee-for-a-cause-that-matters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Being a trustee for a cause that matters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/","name":"Family Fund","description":"Helping Disabled Children","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/familyfundprd.wpengine.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20270,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20265\/revisions\/20270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}