Lessons from Leading a Volunteer Based Charity with Simon Errington

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

Connect with Julia:

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