Trustees' Week 2024: How to make a difference at your u3a

Gail, from Glasgow West End u3a, discusses the varied role of being a Chair of an active u3a.

I first joined u3a when I retired back to my native Scotland (having worked in the south of England) in October 2020. My early experiences of u3a were on Zoom and I was very lucky to have joined Glasgow West End u3a, which was organising a lot of online events. This was a lifeline for me at the time. As soon as we were able to meet up (socially distanced of course!) I started helping the committee organise some events for new members and this led me to joining the committee in October 2021.

I quickly found myself in the role of Chair which could have been daunting but fortunately the committee was well established and fairly experienced so I had a lot of help.

As Chair my role is varied. I chair committee meetings and do my best to ensure that we are compliant with all our responsibilities. I also front our Monthly Meetings which gives me a chance to chat to the wide variety of speakers we have as well as speak to many of our members. Over the last few years I have also had an opportunity to attend events and represent the u3a externally which is very interesting - I have become aware of some organisations that I had previously never heard of. It’s great to work together in the community when the opportunity arises. I am often the first point of contact for many new members and as I enjoy meeting people I find this satisfying.

Our committee meetings can cover a lot of different areas and it’s rewarding to have so many ideas to try and make our u3a more interesting for our members. No two meetings are the same . We are always looking for ideas and help to set up new groups which of course form the backbone of the u3a.

In 2022 our u3a was five years old, at the same time as the u3a nationally was 40. We organised a number of social events to celebrate these two milestones. Since then, we have tried to keep up a programme of social events as we find many members enjoy these.

Being on the committee is challenging but I would urge all u3a members who have a little bit of time to consider joining their committee or offering to help with groups and meetings. It’s a great way to help shape your u3a and to make new friends.