Two notable regional businesswomen have joined the Board of East Midlands charity, Star Trust – The Charitable Entrepreneurs.
They are Derbyshire-based Rachel Hayward, Managing Director of procurement consultancy Ask the Chameleon, and Anna Wooster-Mann, the founder and Managing Director of Greenio in Newark which is a national renewable energy hub.
They join a Board of business people from across the East Midlands who oversee the Star Trust charity which, over the past ten years, has organised fund raising events and donated to £852,642 for 114 charities – benefiting more than 71,000 people across the East Midlands.
Rachel Hayward specialises in producing funding and commercial procurement applications and business award submissions for ambitious East Midlands micro, small businesses, and Third sector organisations – securing a total of £117m for her clients.
Named the FSB East Midlands self employed/freelancer of the year Rachel has also reached the national final of The Small Awards 2024 which are a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors.
Having chaired Annabel’s Angels, a small charitable trust for the relief of cancer patients across Derbyshire, Rachel explained she was committed to ensuring continued support for smaller charities who had the greatest impact on local people’s lives.
“I am looking forward to bringing my experience in bid writing and the SME and voluntary sectors to Star Trust and being on the ‘other side of the fence’ to ensure the money raised and donated through the charity goes to the organisations in most need and who provide maximum benefits to some of the most vulnerable people in our local communities.”
Anna Wooster-Mann founded Greenio in 2013 with a vision to educate and help homeowners and businesses reduce their carbon footprint with tailored electrical and heating alternatives including solar panel installation, EV chargers, air source and ground source heat pumps, LED lighting and biomass boiler service and maintenance.
She said: “My business is deep rooted in supporting local people and businesses to make ethical and cost-saving choices that help save the planet.
“This reflects my own ethos that we must do everything we can to protect and support services that improve the health and wellbeing of our local communities.
“Star Trust is an incredible charitable organisation that brings together like-minded entrepreneurs who share that commitment to improving the lives of local people and I am delighted to be joining the Board.”
Star Trust founder Steve Hampson concluded: “We are fortunate to be supported by a committed group of business people to steer our charity and by those whose generosity means that we can support smaller charities across the East Midlands who do such an amazing job in their local communities.
“We are delighted to have Rachel and Anna on board and look forward to the contribution that they will make to Star Trust in so many different ways.”