After 8 years of incredible work, Rachel de Luca has stepped down as Chair. She will stay on the board as an active trustee with the charity as we continue to work to provide residential accommodation for homeless people here in Bradford. During her time as Chair, Emmaus Bradford has gone from strength to strength. After a challenging year during COVID, she oversaw the opening of a new city centre shop on Sunbridge Road, BD1. The new shop is helping to raise the profile of our recycling work and attract new supporters, volunteers and donations of furniture and appliances. THANKYOU Rachel for your phenomenal work, great energy and ability to stay cheerful – whatever is going on around you!
We are delighted that Sarah Dixon has been elected as Chair. Sarah has already helped move Emmaus Bradford further forward, by leading on our strategic planning, developing policies, negotiating leases and she has been a driving force in the search for a property to turn into long-term accommodation for local homeless adults. Sarah’s experience in acquisitions and mergers for Shell International is certainly coming in handy as we try to acquire the right place for people to call home as long as they need one.
Sarah said, “I am passionate about Bradford and helping to address the homelessness issue. The Emmaus model is close to my heart because we not only provide accommodation, but also provide work. This helps people escape a vicious circle – if you have no home, you cannot get a job; if you have no job you cannot get a home. With two successful charity shops that will provide work experience, we are now moving to the exciting next stage of property acquisition and conversion so that we can provide the accommodation. We are very grateful for any donations to support this major project.”
And we welcome to the Board of Trustees a local resident with international links and a passion for campaign work. Fletch Williams. Fletch is based in the Bradford area and was unsure at first whether to apply for a role on the Board, until a friend assured her that her younger age would be an advantage to Emmaus Bradford in helping to diversify the board. We’re delighted Fletch has joined us and she is already complimenting the strategic team of trustees, with a fresh perspective.
If you would like to volunteer to join Emmaus Bradford’s Board of Trustees, helping to govern the charity and shape the strategic direction of Emmaus Bradford, please email the Chair, Sarah Dixon at sarah@emmausbradford.org.uk with details of relevant experience and why you’d like to play a strategic role at Emmaus Bradford. We are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience in Homelessness Support, Property Management or Development, Fundraising, HR, Community Development and Marketing.