Donna Stubbs is Community Manager at Newcastle Building Society. As Associate Gold Membership+ members of VONNE, the Society values engagement with VCSE organisations and has a number of opportunities available to the sector. In Donna's guest blog, she tells us about her personal transition from charity to private sector and how Newcastle Building Society's community-minded approach offers vital support to both people and places in the North East.
It probably didn’t escape your attention that Newcastle recently welcomed the return of The Hoppings after a three year break. Seeing the Town Moor filled with rides and that unmistakable cocktail of sound and smell was a powerful but welcome nostalgia trip. Just the mere whiff of candy floss had me reflecting on the past few years and how everything has changed and yet somehow, nothing has changed too.
My big change happened a year ago when I made the jump from the charity sector to the private sector, moving into my role as Community Manager at Newcastle Building Society – the North East’s building society. Let me say changing job and switching sectors in the middle of a global pandemic wasn’t without challenge but has quickly become the best career decision I ever made.
This region means everything to me. And in my professional life, having a job with meaning is absolutely essential. Making even a small positive difference to our part of the world makes it all worthwhile. Yet, in honesty I was scared of the transition. I didn’t know a great deal about financial services and hadn’t really imagined being part of it. It was only when researching Newcastle Building Society that it became clear that supporting our communities isn’t just something we say, but something that sits at the core of our purpose and intrinsic to the running of the business. Straight away I knew this was a good place to be.
That hasn’t changed. If anything, now the L-plates are off, I am even more excited about developing new plans and approaches for Newcastle Building Society’s Community commitments. We still have learning to do, and will need guidance and insights from our partners and friends in the third sector.
One of my proudest achievements in my role so far has been developing a network of Community Ambassadors across the Society. These colleagues are personally committed to enhancing the value in our community-minded approach, are willing to take some time away from the day job, roll their sleeves up and get involved. However it’s not just people but places too, which will be vital for our support of communities. Unlike many other financial service providers, Newcastle Building Society continues to invest in branches on our high streets, including many which offer community rooms that charities and community groups can use free of charge. Our network of 30 branches range from Berwick down to North Yorkshire and across to Cumbria.
We are proud of our progress so far, but recognise, there is still much to do. Environment is a relatively new strategic pillar for us but in the current economic climate, it is hard to see how we can contribute to making progress within this theme without also considering poverty. Fostering diversity, inclusion and positive change in our communities is also an area of focus for the Society and one which sits right at the top of my personal priorities. We will continue to adapt our grant giving to respond to the needs in our many communities and welcome opportunities to direct our grant funding from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation, to communities right across our region.
Whilst the speed of life whizzes us round like a waltzer, one thing I’ve learned is that real, meaningful change can be a slow process – more like the big wheel, creaking us round and round. And just as we’re all getting used to change I know the next year will probably have more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. Hold on tight, I hope to see you on the ride.
You can join Newcastle Building Society's online discussion forum, Connected Communities here.
Learn more about how Newcastle Building Society is powering communities through their work here.
If you'd like to speak to Donna, you can contact her at Donna.stubbs@newcastle.co.uk