Involve Celebrates 50 Years at AGM

On the morning of Tuesday, 18th November 2025, we held our 50th Annual General Meeting at Maidstone Town Hall. Alongside our staff, partners, service users, and volunteers, we commemorated five decades of promoting choice, connecting people and challenging inequalities. From our grass-roots as a local volunteering centre, to an organisation which now supports over 30,000 people annually, the Meeting was an opportunity to showcase the transformative work carried out by Involve, not only over the past year, but as an acknowledgement to those who have laid the foundation to our work today.

Presentations highlighted our support for care leavers through our Moving Forwards service, our continued work with unpaid carers in West Kent to co-produce a service that empowers them, and our approach to engagement and the role of lived experience in our workforce and shaping our services.

We were also joined by Peter Heckel, CEO of Salus, who spoke passionately about the power of collaboration in delivering a cohesive therapeutic wellbeing service for young people, ensuring timely, tailored support where it is needed most.

Highlighting our partnerships with charity and community organisations, Diljeet from Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, shared how Involve’s funding has helped cultivate an inclusive community hub that promotes education, creativity, and wellbeing.

We also bid a warm farewell to our Chair, Richard Leicester, who is stepping down after an outstanding 14 years as a Trustee on the Involve board. At his final AGM as Chair, Richard was honoured with a commemorative plaque, presented by Involve volunteer Jean. We extend our sincere gratitude to Richard for his unwavering dedication to the charity, he has been a steadfast presence throughout a decade of change and growth. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

Our special thank you to The Mayor of Maidstone, Councillor Martin Round, for graciously hosting us in the Town Hall Chambers and officially opening the Meeting.

Watch the full stream here.