OPPORTUNITIES IN SOS CIO
There is no more important role than volunteering in a Charity.
So far we have established three Trustees – Allan (Chair), Michelle Wilson, and Richard Watkins (Vice-Chair). We started the charity in July 2021 and have now started to prove that there is a need for education to support action on the part of the people in Shropshire to make a difference in fighting the Climate Emergency.
We would now like to get support from a few more Trustees and have identified three key roles where we would benefit from external specialist expertise and help.
On this page, we provide descriptions of three Trustee Roles:
- Finance Trustee
- Business Development Trustee
- Operations Trustee
We also describe the requirements for two other key roles which we would love to see operate within the charity:
- Climate Champion
- Community Engagement Manager
Finance Trustee
We need experienced help to support the charity’s Financial Management from the point of view of internal processes like budgets and financial management, through to managing external reporting requirements to the Charity Commission. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. We have established our accounts, and use an online programme called Zoho Books. Our accounts at this stage are relatively simple, so not a huge task. But it would be great to get someone to help with managing this important area.
Business Development Trustee
We need help from someone who can support business development, which covers everything from Marketing through the website and social media to getting more members and finding new funding sources. We have now established that there is a demand for education in the community. We have educated key members of the council, and one year on have educated around 80 local parish and town councils. We would love someone to help us now develop our reach into the community to help communities change their lifestyles, and recognise that what is good for the planet is good for their pockets. It is not so bad.
Chief Operations Trustee
We are running courses, getting attendees certified as carbon literate, and following up with those who have been on courses. We are establishing an operation in which we will recruit trainers to deliver training to Parish/Town councils and householders in both virtual and physical settings. This requires operational activities to recruit trainers, and deliver training (including booking, establishing and delivering the training to the right audiences). We are looking for someone who has experience in providing training in this way to help develop the right operational infrastructure.
Climate Champion
We believe that the cause of changing behaviours across the county beyond will be best supported by having “Climate Champions” who will be trained through our grant scheme and who can then go on into their community to help people to change their lifestyles. We will help them through our grant funding to become trainers – if they want to be – and give them a free place on one of our courses (we will refund the money after they have spent six months working with us). The following document describes the role of the climate champion.
If you would like to apply to become a Climate Champion, then you can fill in an application form and we will take a look at your application. Click on the Apply button below:
Community Engagement Volunteer
We have now got a number of councillors who have been on our courses, and they are going back to their councils with the objective of either developing an existing climate emergency plan, or creating a framework within which to tackle the local carbon footprint. We have a suggested plan for those councils to follow – which has been developed from existing templates and aims to ensure engagement in the community. We see that these councils will benefit from having an expert eye ho can help councils develop their plans and ensure we reach out to the community to change people’s lifestyles.
If you feel you would like to take on a pioneering role in helping people to learn well to live for the planet, please do get in touch.
Please send your expression of interest to the chair – Allan Wilson.