Christopher Morgan welcomed as new Chair of Trustees
7 November 2022
We’re delighted to announce that Christopher Morgan took over as our Chair of Trustees on 3 November 2022. As Back Up’s Chair, Christopher will be responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction with the board of trustees, and working in partnership with our CEO, Abigail Lock, and the rest of the staff team to deliver Back Up’s Transforming Lives strategy.
Christopher Morgan first joined our board of trustees back in 2021 bringing a wealth of professional experience to his work as a trustee.
In 2019, Christopher had a spinal stroke which left him with a permanent spinal cord injury. He first met Back Up at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow during his rehabilitation.
Christopher explains: ‘‘Back Up’s Regional Co-ordinator, Rich came in alongside volunteers to deliver wheelchair skills training.”
“All of the trainers had a spinal cord injury. They were out there living life and seemed genuinely happy.”
They taught invaluable skills like back wheel balance and one-handed pushing. These techniques and their attitude had a massive impact on me. In fact, I recently completed the 26.2mile London Marathon raising over £8000 for Back Up. Something I couldn’t have dreamt of during my rehabilitation. Back Up skills gave me that “wheelchair confidence”.
When Christopher returned home, he applied for our What Next? course and found himself with a community of people who were recently injured.
Christopher says, “it was all such an eye opener about what was still possible for me.’’
After his spinal cord injury Christopher returned to his job but was also keen to get more involved with Back Up. Christopher Morgan has found his tenure as a trustee to be hugely rewarding. He adds: ‘‘I have learned so much about Back Up and spinal cord injury since I became a trustee. Furthermore, I have met so many amazing people: our passionate staff team, terrific volunteers, and the people we support – whose lives have been transformed (as mine was) by Back Up’s services.’’
Christopher is excited to take on the new challenge of chairing the board. My aim is to ensure that Back Up continue to deliver world-leading services and support to everyone with an SCI, responding to future changes and ensuring the charity continues to exhibit robust governance.
‘‘However, the main priority is to deliver our Transforming Lives Strategy which takes us through to 2025 and ensures we have the greatest impact on the lives of the people we all support.”
Would you like to speak to Christopher about his future plans as the new chair of trustees? He’d love to hear from you and can be contacted by email: admin@backuptrust.org.uk.
