Changes afoot in 2023

A new year and changes are afoot here at Thurso Community Development Trust. Joan Lawrie, our Development Manager of the last 5 years is moving on from the Trust. Joan commenced her journey with the Trust in February 2018 acting as a Project Officer on a volunteer basis until the Trust was established. She then joined as a staff member in 2019 through a partnership project with Caithness Voluntary Group and Pulteneytown People’s Project working with the Caithness Community Planning Partnership before becoming a fully on board staff member and our Development Manager in January 2020.

While working for us here at the Trust Joan has worked on establishing many of our projects most latterly taking on the role of project managing the start up of the North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub. The Hub supports communities throughout our region to take community led climate action and is funded by the Scottish Government. Recently, in December the Hub extended its reach to cover the full Highlands & Islands area and Joan will be moving on to now manage the Highlands & Islands Climate Hub in a full time role.

Joan said, “I have loved every part of being involved with Thurso Community Development Trust. Thurso is my home, I was born at Dunbar Hospital and have lived here, brought up my children here and love being a part of the Thurso community. My family background always revolved around doing your bit for the community of Thurso through different guises either Girl Guides, Thurso Bowling Green or other groups and organisations my parents and Grandparents were involved in. To have been a part of Thurso Community Development Trust and all that we have achieved over the past five years has been an immense source of pride to me personally and I also hope that the work which has been achieved brings pride to Thurso.

The Trust has really achieved in the past 5 years, from being entirely voluntary, collecting all of your views to getting on and getting the work done. We have an amazing staff team, a fantastic Board of Trustees who are committed to making Thurso a better place to live, work and visit for everyone with numerous brilliant volunteers who help with all of our projects. I especially can’t go without mentioning the incredible support that the Thurso Community offered during Covid-19 from the volunteers who answered the phones to those who delivered shopping and prescriptions. It was overwhelming at the time to me sitting behind a desk writing funding applications to get us the funds to support the community just how many of you stepped in to support and help people throughout Thurso.

Since Covid-19 we have gone onto establish Socially Growing and progressed our other projects like the Sharing Shed and the Thurso Grows Community Garden. We now are also part of the Highland Community Waste Partnership. A reoccurring theme throughout all of these projects is community led climate action and it is a real passion and dedication of mine that doing these type of projects both address the climate emergency and reduce inequalities in our community while at the same time improving wellbeing and giving a greater sense of localism and community.

Therefore, with the Trust now being fully established in the Thurso Community and it being in the incredibly safe hands of our fantastic Board of Trustees, Staff and Volunteers I felt that now was the right time to pass the fabulous and wonderful position of being Development Manager for the Trust over to someone new to lead the organisation into its next 5 years and beyond. As Manager of the Highlands & Islands Climate Hub, I won’t be going too far just yet and will continue to support the Trust and Socially Growing in that role just as I will be supporting other communities and organisations throughout the Highlands & Islands area.”

Helen Allan, Thurso Community Development Trust Chairperson said, “Thurso Community Development Trust and Thurso have been incredibly lucky to have had Joan Lawrie working with us as Project Officer and latterly as Development Manager. She has helped us to aim high, do more than we thought possible, all the time supporting, encouraging and pointing us in the right direction. As well as being an incredibly hard worker Joan is also not scared to try new and innovative projects – remember the amazing ‘ Thurso Show’ that little weekly youtube video that we used to keep the community informed during lockdown- our own You Tube channel – who would have thought. None of our current projects would have been possible without all the hours that Joan has spent in the background identifying potential sources of funding then putting together some very complex funding bids – not always successful but far more successes than failures.

But thankfully as Joan has mentioned she is not leaving us completely, she will still be around to give advice and support as needed in her new role as Manager of Highlands & Islands Climate Hub, as well as benefiting  all the other communities in Highlands and Islands.

So on behalf of Thurso Community Development Trust and Socially Growing Boards of Management, Staff, Volunteers and the community of Thurso I would like to say a huge THANK YOU , and wish you every success in your new role. ”

Thurso Community Development Trust are now recruiting for a new Development Manager. More information on the role can be found on our Vacancies section. The closing date for applications is Monday 30th January at 5pm.