Quartet bolsters board of trustees

Four high-profile appointments have been made to the board of trustees at South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF).

Darren Littlewood, chief financial officer for Henry Boot, Melinda Schofield, senior executive for Bauer Radio, David Akeroyd, principal of Barnsley College and Julie Gill, formerly of Westfield Health have all joined SYCF.

Darren moved to land, property and development specialists, Henry Boot, in 1998 before becoming chief financial officer in 2016. He is also a member of the CBI Yorkshire and Humber Regional Council.

Darren said: 

Henry Boot PLC is a long-standing supporter of SYCF and having been appointed as trustee it is a real privilege to be able to work with such an important organisation delivering significant value to our communities in the region.

 

Melinda Schofield has more than 25 years’ experience in advertising and media and currently holds the position of regional sales director at Bauer Media Yorkshire.

David Akeroyd joined Barnsley College in August 2019 and became principal and CEO in August last year. He has previously worked in banking and finance and held senior leadership roles in Liverpool and Bradford.

Julie Gill has more than 25 years’ strategic and operational management experience working at board level and in senior executive roles and her last being executive director of operations at Westfield Health.

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation is the region’s largest local grant giving charity and in 2023 awarded more than £1.7m to 410 community organisations.

Ruth Willis, CEO of South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation, said: 

All four trustees bring to the Foundation a wealth of knowledge, skills, networks, management expertise and trustee experience. We’re confident they will be major assets to our team and we’re delighted to have them on board.

 

It comes as vice chair, Dr Julie MacDonald, Zaidah Ahmed, Melvyn Lunn, and Craig McKay step down as trustees after ten years’ service.

Ruth added: 

We would like to thank our four outgoing trustees for their immense dedication. All have made major contributions to the work of the Foundation by taking on a variety of pivotal roles over the years, as well as leading numerous key projects.

 

Since 1986, South Yorkshire's Community Foundation has made grants of more than £36 million to local groups, individuals, charities and organisations across the region.