Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action is delighted to welcome Fiona Heinonen, CEO of children’s charity, Kayleigh’s Wee Stars to its board of directors. Fiona received overwhelming support from the AVA membership and was appointed to the role at the AVA AGM at the end of February.
Fiona lives near Lumsden in Aberdeenshire and became CEO of Kayleigh’s Wee Stars in 2021 at a time when the charity was growing to support more families where a child has a terminal illness. Having spent the last 23 years working in various corporate and agency PR, marketing and CSR roles, as well as almost a decade in leadership in the charitable sector, Fiona brings with her a wealth of knowledge of both the corporate and charitable sectors across the UK and globally, a depth of understanding of cross sector partnership working and a passion for bringing these sectors closer together to achieve shared goals that make business and social sense.
Fiona said “It’s an honour to be selected as a board member for AVA. The work they do to support the third sector in Aberdeenshire is vital to creating fairer and more resilient communities across the shire. I share their vision for working together to achieve long term, sustainable and positive change in our region, something I have been passionate about for many years. I look forward to doing all I can to support the AVA team and their membership in achieving this goal.”
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action continues to adapt and respond to the changing landscape navigated by THE Third Sector, particularly over the past three years through the pandemic and the cost-of-living crises. We’re supporting and promoting more groups and a wider range of work than ever before and having a wealth of experience on our board to steer us forward is vital.
Dan Shaw, AVA’s Chief Executive Officer was pleased to welcome Fiona onto the board and commented, “AVA is always keen to benefit from the skills and experiences that a new Board member brings to the dual role of Director and Charity Trustee. Fiona has been a friend of AVA for some years now and has a wealth of experience that will complement the skills of our current board.
AVA has worked hard to engage with many different parts of Aberdeenshire’s public sector to achieve greater awareness of the benefits of working alongside the community, voluntary and third sectors, and has developed exciting plans for connecting with the private sector to achieve similar outcomes.
I am looking forward to working directly with Fiona on a ‘Responsible Business’ programme that will connect more people in the private sector with more opportunities to contribute to the brilliant work that small groups of community focused people do on a daily basis.”
Fiona’s appointment as a Director and Charity Trustee is for an initial period of three years.