St John Ambulance appoints its first Young Persons' Trustee

St John Ambulance has appointed its first Young Persons’ Trustee. The charity has chosen 26-year-old Danny Sharpe, a doctor and volunteer from Middlesex, to further its commitment to youth participation.

Representing the voice of young people

The new role of Young Persons’ Trustee was created to bring a young person’s perspective to the current board of trustees, ensuring there is always someone actively representing the voice of young people within the organisation.

As well as attending trustee meetings and making decisions that will impact on the organisation’s strategy and policies, Danny will be meeting young people from around the country to seek their views and opinions. He will also be working closely with the youth department at the charity’s national headquarters to drive forward its strategy for youth. The role commences on 26 November.

Wendy Human, Head of Youth at St John Ambulance, said: ‘We wanted a young persons’ trustee on board to help us continue to evolve and develop our strong connection with young people. We had a very clear idea of the type of person we wanted as our Young Persons’ Trustee: someone with experience of volunteering, who was passionate and inspirational and who young people could engage with.

'Danny possesses all of these qualities and having been a volunteer with St John Ambulance since he was a child means that he has an excellent insight into the organisation from a young person’s point of view and a clear vision of what he would like to achieve with us. As well as his voluntary work, he’s also a doctor in the army so has worked hard to be successful. We think he’ll make an excellent ambassador for young people.’

Danny Sharpe, Young Persons’ Trustee, said: ‘I know from my own experience that youth volunteering establishes confidence and self worth as well as developing aspirations. Through this role I aim to help St John Ambulance maximise the potential of every one of its 25,000 young people. I look forward to hearing their views and sharing them to influence the organisation's future direction.’

St John Ambulance is also proud to announce that three workers have been awarded for their dedication to young people. Tim Loughton, Conservative shadow minister for young people, presented Ruth Jalloh from the charity with an award on behalf of NCVYS (The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services) for her work with young parents and those not in employment, education or training in East London. Commendations were given to Mani Sherwin for his work in developing the St John Ambulance youth strategy and its youth leader training scheme and to Lindsay Weaver for her work with Cheshire Young Carers, a project offering respite activities for 150 young carers, throughout the year.

Ruth Jalloh commented: ‘We’re all surprised but delighted to be recognised for our involvement with young people. From my point of view it draws attention to the work St John Ambulance does in hard to reach communities, which often goes unnoticed. I hope this helps more young people get involved in our projects as St John Ambulance has a lot to offer.’