David Forrester tells us what drew him to the role of Charity Board Chair 

Early in 2023, I took the role of Chair of Trustees at YWCA Yorkshire after serving five years as a member. 

Whilst this might sound worlds apart from my role at Siemens Digital Industries in Sheffield, my experience setting up and running a business and now working for a multinational has afforded me transferable skills and I really wanted to put these to good use. 

Moreover, my time serving the charity has taught me just how vital it is for people from business and across a range of sectors to get behind and support some of the most vulnerable and most resilient people in our communities.  

As well as a business person, I’m a dad of two young women, and I can’t help but be moved by the experiences of women and girls in South Yorkshire.  

Many of the people that connect with our housing and support projects don’t have family and friends to fall back on in tough times. That can be quite hard to comprehend for some people, but it is absolutely the case right here where we live and work. 

So, beyond offering strategic direction and governance, I’d like to use my role as Chair to help raise the profile of YWCA Yorkshire and the very real, and sadly, growing need for services like this.  

Being a charity we are always on the lookout for assistance in the form of operational support - products to raffle, tech that we can use with young people learning new skills, furniture to help people build a home, or items we can sell onwards to raise funds in our charity shop.  

Or if you think you have the skills to add to our amazing Board of Trustees, then please do get in touch with me directly on LinkedIn.