In praise of perseverance, people and partnership: hopes from the incoming High Sheriff of Suffolk

“At Suffolk Community Foundation’s Annual Review and The High Sheriff Awards in mid‑March, the 2025/26 High Sheriff, Gulshan Kayembe, summarised the VCSE landscape in a way that was both clear‑eyed and hopeful.  She reminded us that while funding sits at the root of many challenges facing the charity sector, it must never be the reason we step back.  Instead, it should prompt us to lean in; forming new partnerships, diversifying income, and building the kind of resilience that keeps services going when need is more complex and resources tighten.  A resolve that is practical not pessimistic, is a clear message for all: strength can be forged from adversity.

Volunteering is another honest discussion.  After the pandemic’s wilting of volunteering, we’re only now seeing small shoots of recovery.  Re‑growing that canopy of community energy takes intention as well as inspiration.  At the annual review, Sir Nick Young offered exactly that: straightforward ideas any organisation can act on by prioritising volunteer care, shaping clear roles for volunteer coordination, investing in recruitment and onboarding, and championing employee volunteer teams so businesses can be part of the regrowth.  Add to that a culture of sharing knowledge across charities and making recognition genuine and frequent, and we have a fertile seedbed to nurture those shoots back into something strong and sustainable.

Gulshan also spoke of the complexity of the problems we collectively face.  Need rarely arrives in neat boxes; issues overlap, health with housing, debt with mental wellbeing, isolation with cultural clashes…  This makes change harder to quantify, but not impossible.  There’s a familiar business adage: ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.’ The opportunity is to apply discipline without losing compassion.  Perpetually striving for simple, meaningful outcomes and sharing successes and failures in honest feedback loops so we can spot what works, stop what doesn’t, and adapt quickly.  As the incoming High Sheriff, I recognise the opportunity in bringing a business lens to this task: challenging the clarity of goals, that have backing from budgets, and most importantly ways to get the very best from people and partnerships.

This leads to the heart of a solution for us all: work together.  ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’ isn’t a cliché when you see it in action. It’s the multiplier that can turn small grants into big change, and individual volunteers into a confident, connected network.  The Office of High Sheriff is uniquely placed to encourage that spirit. Its reach is varied and far‑reaching, connecting people across Suffolk and shining a light on those who do good.

Looking forward to the next 12 months, I’m keen to play my part by building on a theme close to my heart: food as a force for good.  Food cuts across health, skills, local enterprise and simple human connection. From supporting healthier, more affordable eating and strengthening local distribution, to hospitality training that opens new pathways.  Put simply, food is a powerful vehicle for change, and it is a compelling thread to weave through a shrieval year.  With a background that spans business and building collaborative local ventures, I hope to bring fresh, practical approaches to the shared challenges before us: approaches that are grounded in measurement, shaped by perseverance, and powered by people.

“Do what you can.  Give what you can” is a phrase that the Foundation’s CEO, Hannah Bloom, often advocates.  And let’s keep doing it together, because Suffolk’s best work has always been shared work.

Finally, in praise of the people and partnerships of Suffolk, I hope you will join me for a Suffolk Celebration in Bury St Edmunds, on Suffolk Day Sunday 21 June for an anthology of performances, in aid of the Suffolk Community Foundation – It’ll be About Suffolk, By Suffolk, For Suffolk.”

Oliver Paul DL, High Sheriff of Suffolk 2026/27 

To book tickets to the Suffolk Celebration, please click here.