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Lessons from Leading a Volunteer Based Charity with Simon Errington
Description
In this special Podcaston Week episode of the Impactful Teamwork Podcast, host Julia Felton speaks with Simon Errington, CEO of Children in Distress, about the charity’s 35-year journey from supporting Romanian children after the fall of communism to evolving its focus toward funding grassroots projects in the UK while maintaining legacy work in Romania.
Simon shares current initiatives including Casa Maria in Bucharest for children with neurological and physical disabilities, an annual 5,000-shoebox Christmas campaign, and UK pilot programs in Hull that build community, education, and confidence through cooking clubs and heritage-language learning.
He discusses the leadership challenges of running volunteer-led organisations, emphasizing trust, relationships, community, and communicating impact to engage younger supporters, and he explains how to donate or volunteer via childrenindistress.org.
00:00 Why Teamwork Wins
00:46 Podcastathon Week Intro
01:10 Meet Simon Errington
01:59 Charity Origins in Romania
03:19 Casa Maria and Shoeboxes
04:09 Pivoting to the UK
05:55 UK Projects in Hull
09:48 Key Pillars for Youth
11:59 Why Simon Volunteers
14:42 Leading Volunteers as CEO
18:43 Shoebox Campaign Community
21:52 Engaging Younger Supporters
25:16 Small Charity Big Impact
28:04 How to Donate and Volunteer
29:57 Wrap Up and Subscribe
You can learn more about Children in Distress and volunteer here
www.childrenindistress.org
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