"Support a charity that has children at its centre. As well as contributing to the Board, I want to be active on a practical level."

CANW is an innovative and well respected children and community’s charity that has been making a positive difference to the lives of people for over 130 years. We ensure that we live up to our values of Caring, Empowerment and Never Giving Up, and the last couple of years has demonstrated that those values are needed now more than ever.

The Trustee Board is essential to ensuring that our charity continues to provide essential and outstanding support to thousands of children, families and communities across the region by providing governance and support to the dedicated CANW team.

The main thing you will notice when you begin to learn more about CANW is the commitment, dedication and excellence of the staff team across the whole organisation. We believe in team work and we work closely with our Board to ensure we provide high quality services that make a tangible difference to those who need our support.

We know that we can make a huge difference through our services to help children, families and communities address these challenges and have clear plans in place to help us do that.

We hope you are able to help us make that difference.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

We are particularly interested in candidates who have the following knowledge:

Finance

Are you passionate about or have experience working with finance, especially within the charitable sector? If so, we would love to hear from you. We are looking for a Trustee to support our CEO and existing board as the charity grows in an exciting new direction to promote CANWS values, share your expertise and provide essential oversight around accounting practice, investments and fundraising to ensure that we grow a sustainable model of service in to the future.

Legal

If you have a passion for or a background in law especially within the charitable sector we would love to hear from you. We are looking for a Trustee to support our CEO and existing board as the charity grows in an exciting new direction, to promote CANWS values, share your expertise and provide essential oversight around legal processes now and in the future.

Community Voices

We believe in amplifying the voices of those we serve. If you have firsthand experience or a deep understanding of the needs and challenges faced within local communities, we want to hear from you. Your insights will help us shape our services and initiatives to better meet the needs of the people we serve.

We value your time and dedication and would ask that you commit to attending our bi-monthly meetings and support our subgroups and volunteering/ fund raising activities.

At CANW, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive and to being a place where all belong. We are keen to ensure our board membership reflects our values and therefor particularly encourage applications from candidates who represent faith and cultural communities and from young people especially those who may have lived experience of the care environment.

By joining our board, you will contribute to a cause that truly matters and have the opportunity to make a lasting difference in the lives of the children, young people, vulnerable adults, and communities we serve.

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee at CANW and believe you have the skills and passion to help us achieve our goals, please complete our application form below.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Application Form

Board Members

Marguerite Webb

Chair

I wanted to make a difference to children in my area to help them become the best people they could be. All children and young people have such potential and at CANW all the staff, volunteers and trustees do everything we can to offer them the practical and emotional support to enable them to achieve all that they can. CANW is great charity, with 130 years of history in helping vulnerable local children and I feel proud to be a small part of it.

Lewis A Baxter

Vice Chair

At my lowest point in 2016, CANW was there. The charity has undoubtedly shaped me into the person I am today. I want to give back and support young people, their families and communities across the Northwest and beyond.

Steve Peddie

I have made a commitment to join CANW as a Trustee, by offering time and energy to support a local, values-led organisation, who deliver frontline childcare to thrive and fill gaps in the provision of excellent and sustainable support and to change lives for children and families in the North West.

Gordon Fairweather

Together with my other trustees, it has been a real privilege to have been part of that successful team. I would highly recommend becoming a trustee at CANW to anyone who wants to make a difference in children’s lives.

Jon Comyn-Platt

Miranda Rathmell

I am a trustee of CANW because I want to support a charity that has children at its centre. As well as contributing to the Board, I want to be active on a practical level, continuing to listen to and sharing children's stories and supporting fundraising initiatives.

Rachel Covey

I was drawn to CANW due to the local impact of the organisation, motivating me to have a visible contribution to communities around me, and values which align with my own in relation to empowerment and never giving up. There is a drive for fresh ideas and thinking which I am thrilled to be a part of.

Simon Damp

I became a Trustee of CANW when I realised the depth of the areas they cover, helping children and families weather the storms of everyday life. Through first hand experience when my family needed some extra support they were there and helped us enormously. I wanted to help them be in a position to help other families in a similar position, along with children who through no fault of their own need some help and support. I am honoured to be able to say that in some small way I may have been able to help, and pay back the support I received.

Sarah Booth-Henry

My father, Trevor (Mace) Booth, was just 18 months old when he entered Blackburn Orphanage – admission number 1,000, boy number 579; his relationship with CANW continued until his passing in 2019. The Orphanage, now CANW, has been in my life, all of my life, and not only do I want to continue his legacy, I also want to make my own contribution to the organisation and the young people it serves.

Tina Short

I am truly honoured to be selected to support CANW as a Trustee. I love the long history that is cherished and respected by the staff and trustees alike, and that it is a Northwest based charity with National reach. I can also see that with the dynamic changes the Board has instigated following the retirement of the previous CEO, the impactful work of CANW will be protected for the future too.