Wealden Volunteering is run by a dedicated, knowledgeable and enthusiastic group of volunteers who manage our internal and public facing services. Each member of the team works in an area that reflects their particular strengths and abilities and is given the opportunity to develop and improve their skill set.
A few words from our CEO Judith Austin:
“The community spirit in Wealden is fantastic and it is so rewarding to be helping volunteers and charities alike. I love my role as CEO of Wealden Volunteering. My background working with businesses and charities, nationally and globally has equipped me with the experience and knowledge I need for this position. Working with a trusted team of volunteers ensures that the charity runs efficiently and provides a wide range of services to local people and businesses across Wealden”.
Meet our team:
Alex Malam Fundraiser
(Bio to follow)
Mark Alger Fundraiser
“I bring a wealth of experience in community engagement, relationship building, and fundraising to my role at Wealden Volunteering. Having retired from the Metropolitan Police after 26 years of service, including 17 of those as a Sergeant, I continue my passion for supporting local communities. I am also a Director and Co-Founder of The Vault Community Cinema in Heathfield, a community-led initiative bringing cinema back to the town.
In this new role at Wealden Volunteering, I look forward to building relationships with local businesses, community groups and supporters, developing fundraising opportunities, and helping the organisation make a positive difference across Wealden.”
Beverly Pashley Outreach and youth engagement
“I’ve been active in the volunteer sector since 2014, and I’m one of the founding members of Artytime CIC, a not-for-profit organisation, run by volunteers based in Crowborough. I’m an experienced fund writer and project manager, and I still volunteer once a week at the Artytime Scrapstore. I’ve joined Wealden Volunteering, as Outreach and Youth Engagement officer, and I look forward to promoting the virtues of volunteering to everyone in the Wealden area”.
Plus meet some of our current office volunteers:
Bernadette Roche General office volunteer
“I’m happy to do a little of anything and everything around our Uckfield office. This could be volunteer matching, following up, delivering office services or handling any queries from potential volunteers. I enjoy interacting with any office visitors who may drop in to see us or anyone in need of hearing aid batteries”.
Bev Jackson General office & volunteer matching
“My main role is helping to match volunteers to current opportunities. I also assist Judith, our CEO with grant monitoring, and assist Karen, our Treasurer with any day-to-day tasks in her role. I’m usually in the office at least once a week, but will also be in for any other specific tasks or as needed”.
Jane Sambrook Membership
“As membership volunteer I liaise with our charity and business members. I’m their first point of contact and handle renewals and any enquires that they may have. I also organise the scheduling of our regular window displays, and am also involved in setting up and managing our networking lunches. I’m usually in the office on two days a week, and look after any other ad hoc enquiries we have from anyone dropping by”.
Neil Sonsthagen Advert writer
“I create all the volunteer role adverts that are uploaded each week to our website. Often the core content for each ad is provided by the different organisations, but on other occasions I take the basic information and rework it to a style best suited to our audiences”.
Paul Latimer Social media
“As social media volunteer, I’m responsible for using a range of platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn to help promote volunteering; advertise specific roles; and to publicise Wealden Volunteering locally. A really important weekly activity involves posting about each role, once they go ‘live’ on our website. It’s all about giving them greater online reach and visibility to anyone living in Wealden”.