Stuart Mayer's story

I love my involvement with the hospice and, if truth be known, probably get more out of it than they do!

Stuart Mayer, Towergate Insurance

One of the team, Stuart Mayer has worked within the third sector since 2002 and delivers a bespoke service to his clients as a Business Development Executive. With this experience, Stuart has also had a place on his local hospice’s trustee board since 2005 and has spoken about his experience of working closely with hospices.

“I have been a Trustee at my local hospice for over 15 years now, which included 10 years as Company Secretary and on the Executive Management Team. The changes I have seen during this time have been enormous and, at times, dramatic, but the one thing that has never changed has been the quality of the care and the total, unswerving commitment of the staff.

"Whilst I have slightly scaled back my commitment, I still regularly attend Board Meetings, sit on the Fundraising Management Team, and act as a steward/marshal/volunteer whenever I am called upon.

"I love my involvement with the hospice and, if truth be known, probably get more out of it than they do! There is a great sense of pride from communities in all their local charities and as a trustee there is a huge sense of responsibility to understand and maintain the mission and vision of what the hospice represents."

"During the pandemic the importance of community support, community action, and community resilience were brought into sharp focus. Whilst there were negative impacts including illness, isolation and loss of life, it also brought a feeling of togetherness and gave people the opportunity to focus on what is most important to them.

"We saw people’s willingness to support local good causes increase, and whilst they couldn’t necessarily do this in the usual manner, virtual events proved extremely popular and donations of financial support proved surprisingly buoyant.

"Now we are on the road to returning to our pre-covid freedoms we are seeing that support is as good as it has ever been, charity shops are thriving, and events are bringing people back out to support the charities they believe in.

"We know there will be difficult and challenging times ahead but, hopefully, the work we have been doing over the last couple of years and that we are undertaking now, together with our loyal local support will put us in a position to keep doing what we do best, looking after those who need us most."