NXG Trust is overseen by a board of Trustees, mainly local people all giving their time voluntarily. The board recently elected a new Chair, Helen Mathie, Helen works for a national homeless charity.
I was down at Besson Street a few weeks ago – the sun was shining, the garden was in full colour and it was easy to forget for a moment that we were still living in the pandemic. It reminded me how lucky we are to have such a wonderful, restorative and welcoming space on our doorstep. I’ve been reflecting on this as a relatively new Chair of the NXGT Board. When I took on the role back in February, I had little idea how things would pan out. Within four weeks we’d gone into lockdown, we had to take the difficult decision to suspend many of our services, and plans were quickly being put in place to deal with the many unknowns we faced as a charity. We know how hard this period has been so many in our community and the pressures will still be felt for some time to come.
It has however been an incredible privilege to see the dedication and creativity of the staff and volunteers at Besson Street who have made change happen quickly and kept as many activities going as possible. I was lucky enough to be on the Board for 3 years before becoming Chair, but my new role has given me an even stronger sense of pride about everything we do and the community who make this area of New Cross so special.
We definitely have challenges ahead but 6 months down the line, I’m really excited about working more closely with the team here to achieve the ambitions we have. If you want to find out more about the Board and the other trustees, please check out the governance section of the website (more info will be added soon about who we all are!). I hope there’ll be an opportunity to meet more of you – residents, partners, and volunteers – over the coming months.