We caught up with David to ask him why he dedicates his time, knowledge and expertise to our charity, what makes him tick and why giving back to the community is so important to him !

David, tell us a little about your background..

I was born in the Caribbean, infancy in West Indies, Africa and England. My mother died when I was 6 and I was sent back to boarding schools in England. My father disappeared psychologically and we lived in a small rural cottage without neighbours, electricity or running water. I went to school with wealthy people and yet we never had any money, which led to strong feelings of financial insecurity in my youth. This is why I left university within days of starting and knocked on the doors of business and industry for a job. It paid relatively well but I lived in fear that my total lack of any business acumen would be exposed.

This caused me to work hard and be affable. Slowly I discovered that my real skills are quite rare in business and I started to do extremely well, being frequently promoted for making my targets whilst the bosses agreed that I still didn't look or sound right.

I had the wit to marry a very wonderful woman and have 3 very wonderful sons. I was away from home for a lot of their early lives and confess freely to having read few bedtime stories and attended few bath time rituals. The dreadful focus on escape from financial insecurity eventually achieved its goal and such focus carries inevitable emotional costs. Be careful what you wish for!

My business career has been entirely about Brands and international markets. The roles were marketing and then general management. The brands were alcoholic beverages and luxury brands.

I have travelled pretty much everywhere and lived in several different countries. Eventually I became a CEO and then a Plc Board Director of many different Companies. My skills are strategy, team building, talent development and marketing. Not sure if its a skill, but I believe very much in corporate social responsibility and that profits should never be at the expense of society or our planet.

Why did you want to volunteer for Bath Rugby Foundation?

 I feel strongly that everyone should have a fair start in life and know that not everyone does. I am sad about what my generation has made of the world and how success now seems simply to mean money. This motivates me to try to help young people. I love Bath and want to address its ugly truths of inequality and poverty with positive communitarian action. All of these things make me want to work with BRF.

How do you feel when you volunteer for BRF?

Working with BRF is greatly satisfying and on many levels. I really like the team......all of you! I love the Hitz work and the visible changes that you can see in the students as the hoods, swearing and slumped shoulders morph into bright young humans beginning to face the world with confidence and even a sense of possibilities. The work gives me real opportunities to learn and to update the conditioned, often lazy assumptions of my age group. I get to run around with younger and healthier people. Joe, honestly, whats not to like?

What have been your highlights of volunteering with us?

Highlights include the welcome you get as a volunteer and how you are simply and immediately incorporated into the family. I loved the summer breakout experiences. The kid with the best bike at Odd Down, after showing it off for a while, then said "would anyone like to ride it?" this cause loads of the other children to offer up their assorted skateboards etc for loan as well....positively biblical as a parable of good things spread good things. Chloe opening up to me about her difficulties in childhood and some details of her vocal problems made me feel very trusted as have some similar episodes with other Hitz students. As stated above, a major highlight is working with BRF people.

What do you personally want to achieve during your time as a Volunteer/Trustee?

Continued acceptance and continuing signs that what we do is working.

How has Bath Rugby Foundation changed your life?

Difficult to say "no" to this one!! However and happily, the answer is certainly affirmative, in that the work with BRF is the biggest reason for me not to accept that, at my age, you should just go home, put your feet up and wait for death. The work and the people are inspiring and rejuvenating for reasons of purpose, learning, team work, physical activity and the joy of payback, from someone who was himself helped to believe in a future and find a pathway to independence.

If you are inspired by David's journey as a volunteer  and would like to explore ways you can get involved please  click the link below

 Explore Volunteering Opportunities