Horatio’s Garden is run by a board of trustees who give their time voluntarily. Their varying talents and experience help us to meet our charitable goals and objectives, whilst keeping the costs of running the charity to a minimum.
Meet Bianca Roden. Bianca trained as a speech and language therapist and worked in various hospitals and schools with both adults and children. Bianca has worked as a volunteer for several years in a shelter for women who had suffered abuse and also a care home for adults with learning disabilities.
We asked her a few questions about what being a trustee of Horatio’s Garden means to her:
Q. How you first became acquainted with the charity? A. Olivia Chapple is one of my oldest closest friends and we’ve known each other from university days. Horatio was my beloved godson hence my involvement with Horatio’s Garden from the start.
Q. How did you become a trustee? A. Since the inception of the charity
Q. How long have you been a trustee for? A. 6 or 7 years – since the start
Q. What sort of things to do you as a trustee for Horatio’s Garden? A. Try to spread the word; helped introduce the first landscape gardener we used at Salisbury Hospital; helped with Spirit of Christmas fair last year; helping organise the London fund raising event due in March 2019
Q. What does being a trustee of Horatio’s Garden mean to you? A. Means everything. Keeps me feeling close to Horatio and means that I am helping keep his memory alive whilst contributing towards important work to help make spinal injury patients’ recovery a less distressing experience. Research shows that being outdoors and enjoying the beauty of nature within a garden ie flowers, trees, wildlife and a calm meditative space all help the psyche and promote wellbeing, essential to recovery of any injury or illness.
Q. What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming a trustee of a charity? A. It’s a serious commitment and shouldn’t’ be taken lightly
