Toybox’s Trustees are essential to the organisation’s success. These dedicated individuals bring their expertise, commitment and passion, to ensure we stay true to our mission, manage our resources responsibly, and make sound decisions for the future. They volunteer their time to oversee the charity’s activities, ensuring everything we do is in line with our goals and values.
They are also responsible for safeguarding Toybox’s assets and making sure that our finances are used wisely to maximise the impact of our work. Their commitment and oversight ensure that your generous support makes the greatest possible impact, helping us to create lasting positive change in the lives of street children across the world.
Here the Board share their thoughts on why they became Trustees and what Toybox's core value, courageous, means to them.
Bill Rockett, Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee
“Toybox was an answer to prayer. I prayed for the right opportunity and timing to serve God after retiring and He provided the opening at Toybox. I enjoy working with other people who put their heart and soul into the mission of Toybox. For me, courage means to act or speak with boldness, seeking not to be safe but to be faithful to what you believe is right.”
Carina McLeod
"I wanted to be a Trustee for Toybox to make a difference and support a cause that I feel deeply connected to. This connection stems from two significant experiences. First, I grew up with my mum working for a charity that helped children in need. Watching her selflessness and positivity, despite witnessing extreme poverty, always inspired me. She focused on the good and how to support the cause, and she has always been my role model. Second, after spending eight years living in Costa Rica and travelling Central America, I saw the rich and poor divide firsthand, a contrast to my upbringing in the UK where I only saw this through my mum’s work. The inequality and suffering of children there were deeply upsetting. When I moved back to the UK, I wanted to help a charity by offering the skills I had learned in my career. As soon as I read about Toybox, their work, vision, and values, I knew it was a charity I wanted to support.
To me, Toybox’s core value courageous means standing up for what you believe in and doing the right thing. Being true to your beliefs and values even if it is challenging and may seem impossible to others. It is about not letting fears, insecurities and setbacks stop you and being able to persevere and move forward regardless."
David Westwood, Chair of Trustees
“I have always had a heart for street children. I grew up in Brazil where seeing children on the streets every day was unfortunately part of life. I had the privilege years later of working for Toybox and fell in love with its mission. Becoming a trustee was a no-brainer for me. The most rewarding part of the role is definitely the ability to use my skills and experience gained over the years to make a difference. It's not a job, it comes from the heart. We tend to think of courage as being willing and able to face your fears or that which threatens you. Whilst that is certainly true, I also think courage is about being willing to question those things that give you a sense of security so you don't get set in your ways!”
Pictured above: Top (L-R) Bill, Carina, David
Middle (L-R) Fernando, Francis
Bottom (L-R) Gaynor, Jamie, Vicky
Fernando Caicedo
“The most rewarding aspect of being a Trustee for Toybox is witnessing the positive impact our initiatives have on the lives of street children. It is incredibly fulfilling to see how our strategic decisions and efforts translate into real-world outcomes, providing these children with opportunities for a brighter future. Additionally, working alongside a dedicated team of professionals who share a common goal of creating meaningful change is both inspiring and enriching.
For me, Toybox’s core value, courageous, embodies the strength to confront and overcome challenges and adversity in a positive way. It involves making difficult decisions with integrity, standing up for what is right, and persevering in the face of uncertainty. In the context of being a Trustee of Toybox, courage means advocating for transformational change, for the benefit of the children we support, and ensuring that ethical considerations are at the forefront of every decision."
Gaynor Derham, vice chair
"I wanted to be a Trustee to, in a very small way, help to make a difference. I love being a small part of what I believe is a very impressive, caring charity made up of some very remarkable people. Also hearing the reports from Toybox projects of children being helped, which of course brings us back to their stories and their courage. For me, courageous means making the right choice, carrying on or facing what is in front of me that might seem overwhelming. Its's about speaking out and defending what is right. I so often fail to have courage!"
Jamie Sambruck
"Being a Trustee for Toybox is a chance to contribute in changing lives of young people around the world. I can use my skills developed working in different industries to help Toybox achieve its goals. I also enjoy learning about the inner workings of the charity and how it helps children from a grassroots level. I enjoy seeing close up the work Toybox do and how my personal contribution can go a small way in helping the charity achieve its goals. It’s also inspiring to work with other people for different backgrounds and careers who are so committed to achieving a real change in people’s lives."
Vikki Brophy
“When I was 21, I volunteered for an organisation that supports homeless and vulnerable children and women in South India. That volunteer experience had a profound effect on me and the choices I’ve made since. I learnt there that children are simple and don’t need hundreds of materialistic possessions and objects to be happy, all they really need is a safe place to stay where they know they have food coming, medicine if needed and ideally access to education so they have hope for a better future. The fact that Toybox specifically works with homeless children is really important to me. I do not believe that any child should lack for a safe place to call home. I now have four small children of my own and imagining them in the place of the children Toybox work with is unfathomable to me. I want to use the skills and expertise I’ve acquired over the last twenty years to make a genuine difference to the lives of these children. I’m a really new Trustee at Toybox but I’m loving working with a group of like-minded individuals who genuinely care about the Charity’s mission and want to see real change in the lives of vulnerable children. I’m excited to learn more about our projects and hear the stories of the impact of the work.”
If you are interested in becoming a Trustee for Toybox, keep an eye here for future vacancies, or drop us an email at [email protected] for more information.
