Member Article

New trustees bolster Challenge 4 Change board

The leader of Trafford Council is one of four new trustees of indoor activity centre Challenge 4 Change.

Coun Sean Anstee has joined the charity’s board alongside Greater Manchester Police chief inspector Shane O’Neill, Tony Powell, an executive director at social landlord New Charter Homes, based in Tameside, and Dave Newton, group finance director at The Manchester Growth Company, which works to drive the city’s economic development.

All four have long-standing connections to the Trafford Park-based organisation, as customers, friends and ambassadors.

Coun Anstee is a member of The Manchester Growth Company and Trafford Housing Trust boards. He recently took part in activities at Challenge 4 Change with Trafford Housing Trust, which held a strategy day at the venue.

Chief Inspector O’Neill is in charge of uniform and crime training at GMP and is a director of the Raise the Youth Foundation charity, which helps young people to get jobs and improve their life skills.

He has taken many groups to Challenge 4 Change, and is a keen supporter of its programmes.

Mr Powell has more than 37 years’ experience of social housing, while Mr Newton has extensive financial experience and has advised the charity since its inception in 2008.

Challenge 4 Change operates from a 19,000 sq ft facility which includes an arena with aerial and ground-level assault courses, a climbing wall and a mock jail.

It also operates a mobile training centre in the form of a converted double-decker bus equipped with a zip wire and a climbing wall.

Challenge 4 Change is used by groups from schools and colleges, housing associations, businesses, sports clubs, charities and community organisations.

The charity aims to help people build their confidence, improve their problem-solving and communication skills, and encourage team working.

Chief executive Dave Djordjevic said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new trustees. They all have a good understanding of our aims, and bring strong knowledge and experience of some of Challenge 4 Change’s key markets, along with excellent leadership skills.

“We are potentially looking at bringing more people on board with knowledge and experience of the education and health sectors.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Challenge 4 Change .