Margaret Hart has been appointed as Chair of YHA (England & Wales), taking over the helm from Peter Gaines, who has held the position for the past four years. Margaret joined the charity as a Trustee in 2016 and became Vice Chair in 2017.
Margaret’s appointment was formally announced at the leading youth charity’s AGM, held on last weekend, at the Royal College of General Practitioners in London.
Her appointment precedes the launch of YHA’s new strategy in 2020, which will see the 90-year-old organisation refocus on its core purpose: to enrich the lives of young people and in particular, to promote their health, wellbeing and life chances.
Margaret brings with her a passion and track record for improving the lives of children and young people who are at a disadvantage in society. Previous roles include Corporate Director at NCH Action for Children and Assistant Director at The Open University (OU) for nearly a decade, where she led a programme to enable students facing barriers to higher education to study with the OU.
Margaret said:
“It is my privilege to have been appointed to lead YHA through the next phase of its lifetime. We have started a conversation with our members and young people about our new 10-year strategy and are also seeking the views of allied organisations and charities who can help us achieve our ambitions to improve the lives of many more young people from under-represented groups.”
Margaret has visited nearly 60 of YHA’s 151 hostels (both in her YHA capacity and as an independent guest) over the last three years and has witnessed first-hand the impact of a YHA break.
Margaret Hart – Chair of YHAMargaret continued:
“When you meet a child, who is a carer, who has abseiled for the first time, or speak to a child living with a serious illness who’s achieved something they never imagined was possible, it is very compelling.
“Last year YHA hosted more than 400,000 young people in its hostels, but we want to have even greater reach.
“The impact of a stay with YHA is multi-faceted – our latest Impact Review provides a plethora of evidence of how our breaks improve physical and mental health, build confidence and resilience, as well as helping to bond fractured families and promote better relationships between pupils and teachers.
“The transformative effect of a YHA stay really could not be more relevant today, given the rise in childhood obesity, poverty and mental health problems. We are determined to work closely with other youth charities and other allied organisations to make a bigger difference.”
Margaret recalls her first experience of youth hostelling at the age of 13 years with Girl Guides when she stayed at YHA’s Coniston Coppermines and Helvellyn hostels in the Lake District.
Margaret explained:
“I remember we were given quite a lot of free rein and autonomy to choose how we spent our time. It was a pivotal moment in my personal development, and it was there that I fell in love with the great outdoors.
“YHA is committed to making this life-changing opportunity available to everyone and thanks to our solid commercial foundations, developed through the careful management of our assets, we can be much more ambitious in our charitable impact.”
One of the areas Margaret is particularly passionate about is empowering young people to carve out a better future for themselves, including through work experience and employability skills training.
Margaret concluded:
“As part of the new strategy, we are developing an exciting new programme, which reflects our clearer focus on engaging more young people from marginalised communities with our volunteering and traineeship opportunities.”
Margaret Hart – YHA ChairWelcoming Margaret’s appointment as Chair, James Blake, Chief Executive, said:
“Margaret lives and breathes YHA. She is rarely seen without her walking boots on! More importantly, she understands that YHA is rooted in the ethos of social reform and our commitment to prioritising our resources to have the greatest impact.”
To read YHA’s 2018-19 Impact Review or to view the outline 10-year Strategy and respond to the ‘Conversation Document’ please visit yha.org.uk/strategy2020