Arun Aggarwal joined Hackney CVS’s board of trustees last year. Below, he shares his thoughts on the benefits of being a trustee.

I’ve held trustee roles before, so when I applied to be a trustee at Hackney CVS , I knew roughly what I was getting into. What I didn’t expect was how much I would get out of it.

There’s something different about being connected to the place you’re actually in. Hackney CVS sits at the centre of the local voluntary and community sector – supporting the organisations that quietly do some of the most important work in the borough. Getting to play even a small part in that has been genuinely worthwhile.

The role itself isn’t as daunting as it might sound. As a trustee, you’re not managing the day-to-day, you’re there to help the organisation make good decisions, keep things on track, and make sure leadership has the support it needs. In practice, that means four board meetings a year plus some lighter touch involvement in between. It fits around a busy life.

What we’re looking for isn’t a perfect CV. It’s people who care – whether that’s through professional skills or because Hackney is your community and you want to do something useful in it.

I’d genuinely encourage you to apply. It’s one of those things that gives back more than you put in.

Arun Aggarwal, trustee at Hackney CVS.

Find out more about how you can join the Hackney CVS board of trustees. Read more

Deadline for applications: 12 April.