11 May THE HUDDERSFIELD TOWN FOUNDATION WELCOMES NEW REPRESENTATIVES TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Huddersfield Town Foundation is delighted to announce that it has welcomed three new external representatives to its Board of Trustees.

Following a transparent and open recruitment process which commenced earlier this year, the new Trustees have joined the Board to help the organisation in various ways.

Namely, by ensuring that the Foundation continues to adhere to charitable law and governance processes, ensure it provides for the local community, to create and set a long-term strategy and to offer their own skillset to aid the overall development of the organisation.

Trustees to the Board hold their positions in a voluntary, unpaid capacity. However, they have a legal responsibility to ensure that the charity operates in line with its governing objectives and in the best interests of any beneficiaries.

The three new Trustees are Aidan Grills, Katie Cuerden and Ryan Virtue.

Aidan (pictured centre) is Chief Executive of Leeds University Union and is currently a Governor of Leeds Trinity University and the National Union of Students. He brings a wealth of experience in the education and charity sectors and will also act as the Board’s new lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Katie (pictured left) has more than 25 years’ experience working in various finance roles and is currently Financial Director of a local food services business. She is a long-time supporter of the Foundation, taking part in the Big Sleep Out and attending both Fizz Friday (Ladies’ Lunch) and the Foundation Ball.

Ryan (pictured right) is a Chartered Accountant who started his career at Proctor and Gamble, but now works as Financial Controller at Virgin Media. He is also the Voluntary Financial Director of Internet Matters, a national organisation promoting safe use and awareness of the internet, as well as being a Mentor for the Princes Trust.

Other changes to the Board include the departure of Dean Hoyle and Sean Jarvis as Club representatives, following Dean’s sale of the Club and Sean’s resignation from his position as Commercial Director. Both have played an integral role in the charity’s history.

Dean is well known as the founder of the charity and pioneer of the Foundation’s Breakfast Club initiative, which today sees 41 Breakfast Clubs in operation across Kirklees.

Sean has utilised his business connections within the local community to help procure sponsorship opportunities for the Foundation, as well as promoting fundraising initiatives through his own social media feeds.

It is anticipated that in due course, further Club representatives will be welcomed to join the Foundation Board.

In speaking of the changes to the Board, the Foundation’s Chief Executive, Siobhan Atkinson commented:

“We welcome the opportunity to be able to refresh the skillset on our Board of Trustees and look forward to working with Aidan, Katie and Ryan more closely.

“However, we are also saddened by the departure of Dean and Sean, who have been instrumental to the growth of the charity.

“We would like to sincerely thank them for their contributions towards the Huddersfield Town Foundation.”

The Huddersfield Town Foundation was established in 2012 and operates across themes of Education, Health, Inclusion, Sport and Trust Fund, providing much-loved initiatives to the local community such as Breakfast Clubs, Sporting Memories, Premier League Primary Stars and Tomorrow’s Terriers.

For further information on the charity’s activities, please visit the Town Foundation website at https://www.htafcfoundation.com/ or contact enquries@htafcfoundation.com.