Trustee’s Week – Callum Paterson’s blog

This week (3 – 7 November) is Trustees’ Week – a time for us to come together to celebrate the achievements of nearly one million trustees across the UK.

Trustees help govern the charity and play an important role in setting the strategic direction, whilst providing support, guidance and constructive feedback to the Chief Executive and other Trustees.

Trustees volunteer their own time and act as ambassadors for MND Scotland to help raise awareness about motor neuron disease (MND) and the vital work of MND Scotland.

In this blog, Interim Co-Chair for MND Scotland, Callum Paterson, shares his experiences of why he decided to become a Trustee, and reflects on some key highlights over the past six months.

I always try to take on opportunities to learn new skills, meet new people, and give something back to the causes I care the most about.

I’ve previously volunteered with climate action charities, and I always found the experience so rewarding. My background over recent years has been in policy, stakeholder engagement, and governance, so moving from previous volunteering roles which were more operational into a trustee role where I can do some blue-sky thinking felt like a natural shift for me. That’s not to say I won’t be rolling my sleeves up – any time I get the chance to shake a bucket for MND Scotland, sign me up!

And here’s a wild fact: less than 3% of trustees are aged 30 or under, according to the Young Trustees Movement! I think it’s important that young people get involved in these kinds of roles – not just for our own personal development, but to use our skills to benefit the charities we care about.

My granny, Maureen, was diagnosed with MND in 2013 and passed away four years later. Amongst the hard times known to all of us affected by MND, and the many laughs we had along the way, MND Scotland were always there when we needed help.

One of many examples was when the council were renovating her home, they declined our request to put in a ramp or convert their shower into a wet room because (at the time) she didn’t yet need them. We made a call to MND Scotland and soon heard that the council had agreed to reverse that decision. It’s these kinds of services that can be overlooked, but it’s hard to think about how much time, energy, and cost we’d have had to deal with down the line if the team hadn’t been there to support us.

My family have always given back to the charity – asking for donations at my granny’s funeral, donating her mobility scooter so someone else could make use of it, the many torture rituals marathons and challenges my dad, Scott, and step-mum, Nicola, have ran between them in aid of MND Scotland, and more. I’m no marathoner, but when the opportunity came to become a Trustee of this incredible charity, I just knew that I had to grasp it to give back in my own way.

I love working with my fellow Trustees as it is always an opportunity to learn, and this role gives us the opportunity to both get into the detail of the charity but also to think big about our strategy going forwards.

I recently attended one of our recent Lived Experience and Researcher Network (LEARN) events at Tynecastle. I cannot begin to describe how meaningful it was to speak with people with MND, their loved ones, people researching to find treatments and a cure for this disease, and the fantastic staff team who keep our charity running. I left that event feeling so moved and even more motivated to do all I can for the charity.

These are just two of the highlights of my first six months as a trustee. There’s so much more I can’t wait to get stuck into.

MND Scotland would like to thank Callum for sharing his story and for his continued support. We would also like to thank all of our other Trustees, Liz McRobb (Interim Co-Chair), Graham Binnie, Bryan Garvie, Myles Fitt, Professor Richard Ribchester, Scott Bryson, and Christine Wilson, for their time, input and commitment in making time count for families affected by MND.