Community patrons
From May 2012, we are launching a one-year pilot project, taking on a group of five or six people to become a board of community patrons. We don't want the great and the good; we're looking for east Londoners, with experience of life on a low income. People who know the needs and issues at the heart of our community, and who can speak up for and alongside QSA to tackle them.
What is a community patron?
QSA has decided that, instead of having famous patrons, we want to find patrons who represent what is closer to our hearts – people who live in east London, who are living on a low income, trying to get by and to make their own way in life. We feel QSA's values of being user-focussed, innovative and putting people first will be best served by having ordinary, local people in this role.
What would a QSA community patron do?
We want our patrons to do two things for us.
Firstly, to help us. To look with us at the services we offer and to think about what we do now – and what we could do in the future. All of our services have developed as a response to real needs – what else can we do?
Secondly, we want our patrons to speak about their own experiences – the challenges of being on benefits or of working for a low wage, concerns about housing or health or family. We believe that, in a society as rich as ours, nobody should be struggling to pay bills, buy food and make ends meet. It is important to us to find ways to get the voices and stories of people who are living like this out into the world, using our website or our publications.
What is the commitment asked of a QSA community patron?
We want 5-6 people to serve as patrons for one year from May and to meet together once a month at our office. Meetings will be on a Thursday, from 5pm to 7pm. There will be opportunities to get involved at other times with different things that QSA is doing, but regular attendance at the monthly meetings is the minimum commitment required.
What would I gain from being a QSA community patron?
We hope that being a QSA community patron will be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. We want our patrons to learn about how an organisation works – how it makes decisions, works out budgets, thinks about development. We also hope that our patrons gain confidence and skills in speaking up and speaking out, about issues that matter to them.
What should I do if I am interested in being a QSA community patron?
Please get in touch to find out more. Call Judith Moran on 020 8983 5035 or email judithmoran@qsa.org.uk.
Picture courtesy of JSmith @ flickr.
