How we are organised

The Friends is a membership organisation managed by a Board of Trustees.  All members have an opportunity to influence our development and decisions at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

We are registered with the Charity Commission as a “Charitable Incorporated Organisation”.

The Board of Trustees is currently led by Hussein Syed, Chairman. The trustees meet regularly to plan for the future, ensure compliance with legilsation and manage our resources efficiently and effectively. This includes increasing volunteer numbers, fundraising and identifiying projects which result in the most beneficial use of our funds.

The Covid-19 Pandemic, resulted in a significant change in the roles volunteers can fill.  To achieve consistency and opportunity for our volunteers, we have entered into a “Partnership Agreement” with the NHS Trust.  They now carry out the recruitment checks of FOYH volunteers and manage them within the hospital.  Our volunteers remain FOYH members and retain the FOYH identity.

The Operations Manager of the York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Charity and the Volunteer Services Manager attend the regular Board of Trustees meetings. They do not have a vote but otherwise contribute to the decision-making.

FOYH Chairman Hussein Syed (centre), experiencing a morning with our Mobile Library team.

Social events or special consultation meetings give another opportunity for the wider membership to be involved in developing the Charity.

Our constitution, policies and procedures can be seen on the Governance page of this website.