Charity Link appoints new CEO
Charity Link, a Leicester-based charity supporting people in hardship in crisis throughout Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, has appointed Susan McEniff to the new role of CEO to help drive the charity forward as it heads towards its 150th year of operation.
Mrs McEniff, who has held the role of Director of Marketing and Fundraising since 2012, was appointed to the new position by the Board of Trustees earlier this month after a recruitment process which saw applications from a significant number of external candidates.
The CEO position was created as part of a restructuring of the charity due to the planned retirement of a senior executive, Jim Munton. Mr Munton, previous Director of Operations who has been with the organisation for 33 years, will take on the role of Deputy CEO for the next three years.
Mrs McEniff will lead the charity’s 17-strong team, based at the charity’s office in Millstone Lane in Leicester city centre and will be responsible for the charity’s management administration and delivering strategic objectives.
Mrs McEniff joined Charity Link in 2008 as Fundraising Manager prior to being promoted to the role of Director of Marketing and Fundraising in 2010. She has helped to modernise the brand, developed sustainability and has helped to provide over £12m of essential items to support 80,000 local people in need. Mrs McEniff has also been instrumental in the development of The Goods Depot, a social enterprise which provides white goods and beds to Charity Link clients and the wider community. She also led the charity’s COVID response which has seen, over the past two years, the charity help 13,000 people by providing essential items worth over £2.2m.
Mrs McEniff says: “I have been extremely privileged to be part of the senior leadership team over many years and I am now hugely excited and honoured to lead the organisation towards a positive new chapter in Charity Link’s history.
“During its significant history Charity Link has played a vital part in ensuring that those most in need have the basics in life and are able to reach their full potential. As we once again face extremely challenging times, including the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, I am passionate about ensuring that Charity Link does even more to serve those most in need.
“These are exciting times as we approach our 150th anniversary in 2026 and I look forward to working with the dedicated and passionate Charity Link team, the many other charities and organisations we support, our business friends, and the wider community to make even more of an impact in the months and years ahead.”
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Editors Notes:
Charity Link was established in 1876 by local business people and caring individuals to assist those in Leicester experiencing poverty, hardship and crisis. In 1975 the charity expanded its work to include the areas of Leicestershire and Rutland and in 2012 it expanded its work into Northamptonshire to reach out to more vulnerable people in the East Midlands. Though times have changed Charity Link’s services are as vital today as they were over 140 years ago.
Charity Link finds funding to provide items to ensure that people in need have a decent quality of life and are not held back by circumstance, including food, clothing, beds, cookers, fridges and washing machines. It also offers help with mobility equipment and visual aids not available on the NHS.
Its unique way of working – accessing money from charitable trusts around the UK that are available to help people in need – means that for every £10 donated Charity Link can raise £50 – all of the £50 goes to provide items for those most in need within the local community.
Charity Link helps people of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities, including vulnerable elderly people, the victims of domestic abuse, carers, those with a physical or mental health issue, disabled people and low-income families struggling to make ends meet.
Charity Link helps over 5,000 people each year, a third of which are children and young people. During the COVID pandemic, Charity Link offered significant support helping over 6,000 people and distributing over £850,000 of essential items during the first year of the crisis.
Charity Link launched its social enterprise, The Goods Depot in 2019 to offer a high-quality reuse and new white goods service to Charity Link clients and, through sales to the wider community, create a sustainable long-term income stream for the charity.
Further information can be found by visiting www.charity-link.org or by calling 0116 222 2200. On Twitter @charitylink On Facebook @charitylink
On Instagram @charity-link-official