Luke has been working as the Development Officer with Big Brothers for 8 months now. In his role, Luke is responsible for writing and managing grant applications, reports, donor management and our holiday fundraising campaign, amongst a few other things.
Luke brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team; prior to joining Big Brothers, he worked for non-profit organizations in the UK and Canada for the last eight years, primarily in the field of mental health. This included some frontline work, social enterprise, and now as a grant writer and fundraiser – a real mix! He even founded a football (*soccer) club in the UK for adults with mental health conditions, and reflects, “Although I am no longer involved in the running of it, I’m really proud to see how it keeps growing and providing an outlet for more and more people.”
When asked about a mentor that’s made an impact in his own life, Luke shared “I’m very fortunate to have had a few mentors in my life, something I have grown to appreciate more and more as I have got older. My grandad was especially important to me, he was a real family man who put everyone else first. He lived life to the full and taught me that life is to be enjoyed. He passed away a couple of years ago but his influence lives on, I often ask myself ‘what would grandad do?’”
Starting with Big Brothers during the pandemic unfortunately means that seeing much of our programs first-hand as Luke would have liked hasn’t been possible, however, “A real stand out moment for me is from the Big Brothers Golf Classic where I was finally able to meet a match in person. It was really great seeing how much they meant to each other.”
When he’s not at work, you’ll find Luke snowboarding, preferably with a big blue sky!