Goodbye Comedy Trusters - Charlene

Hello! It’s Charlene. The millennial of the Trust team who uses too many !’s in emails and definitely throws in a few too many smiley faces….Already debating what !’s to remove from this post as we speak. You may have come across me in your Comedy Trust travels! If not, hello! I joined the Trust back in 2015 whilst I was on my placement at university. I was so annoying and persistent they decided to bring me back in 2016 in a full time position as Administrative Assistant. Since then my role has expanded to work as a Project Manager for our Youth strand of Feeling Funny then onto the fun stuff that my brain loves of Operations, Admin and Fundraising Management (I know I’m a hoot right?).

The day is officially here where I hang up my metaphorical comedy hat as I move onto to pastures new with the Port Sunlight Village Trust.

I just wanted to take a moment to say a big thank you to everyone I’ve worked alongside, collaborated with, shared ideas, supported or just generally come across in my day to day life at the Trust. I started this role quivering, looking at the floor and twiddling my thumbs too scared to talk to our Director Sam (the friendliest human on the planet) due to my anxiety to now being able to actively develop, run and deliver projects across the community to support people in similar circumstances. I’ve even thrown in a few public speaking occasions to really spice that anxiety up, I apologise for the awful jokes that accompanied this, it was painful for me too. My time at the trust has helped me grow so much as a person but I’ve also gained such an appreciation and understanding for the value of laughter, humour and play in our lives. We spend so much of lives under high amounts of pressure, stress, judgement and the general chaos that tends to follow becoming an adult that we forget the importance of silliness, playfulness and of course laughter.

Laughter can help us break the mundane patterns we develop as we grow older, helping us to become present and enjoy the moments we are currently living in. It can also help us break any tension, provide relief for negative and stressful emotions and generally help us to feel better in ourselves. What I’ve found so powerful are the messages we can send by exploring them through a comedic lens, helping others see from your point of view or just to raise a general understanding and awareness of particular topics in an engaging and creative way. So with my departing words of wisdom I really do want to encourage anyone interested in taking part, supporting or engaging with The Comedy Trust to take that leap and chance, it could be a life changing experience for you too! I’ll forever be a huge advocate for what The Comedy Trust team does and achieves day in and day out and will continue to over enthusiastically support them in the future. It’s been a privilege to be a part of the charity’s journey. Pssst and by the way..….There is so much exciting stuff on the way for you all, I can’t wait for you to find out more.