New trustee Ashley Symonds has shared why he was so keen to join Inspire’s board.
Born and raised in Ipswich in a single-parent family, Ashley now works at the East of England Co-Op as a Resourcing Advisor and has a long history with Inspire.
As a child, he took part in the football course when the charity originally started as the IFC Foundation.
Ashley explained: “Growing up I didn’t really have anything at all because we were on a single budget. It did affect what I did. I wanted to join a football team but couldn’t because my mum worked weekends, so I really couldn’t get anywhere.
“To have the opportunity to do something in the week after school was really welcomed. Being part of that and taking that through my life, it’s stayed with me. It was one of the things I was thankful to have when I was younger – and it still is.”
Not only did the course give him the opportunity to play sport, without which meant he would have been inactive, Ashley also met people he’s still friends with to this day.
Explaining why he wanted to join Inspire’s board of trustees, he said: “It’s important to give back. You can’t always achieve what you want in your life just through work. It’s important to vote with your feet and give what you can.
I want to help produce positive outcomes for the local community, just like someone did for me. It’s that little something towards making someone else’s life better.”
Such is Ashley’s affinity for Inspire, before joining the board of trustees his daughter took part in the charity’s summer holiday clubs.
He added: “She really enjoyed her time in the clubs and truthfully I don’t know what we as a family would have done without them.”
