SPARK member appointed to CAFOD Board of Trustees

Matthew (Matty) Maslen has been appointed to the Trustee Board of CAFOD. Matty has been part of the SPARK community for some time.  He was part-sponsored by SPARK Social Justice to attend the youth stream of the first two Conference of the Parties to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ( see this earlier news item ).  He is passionate about nuclear disarmament and since graduating he has had the opportunity to do some pieces of work with the Peace Studies department at Bradford University. He has also been the editor of the monthly J&P newsletter for the Leeds Diocese since November 2021 (when he was still as student).

It was through Bronagh Daly( now the Creativity Lead at Leeds Church Institute) who was the CAFOD Community Participation Coordinator for the Leeds Diocese at the time, that Matty became involved with CAFOD as a volunteer. As a student CAFOD gave him the opportunity to attend COP26 in Glasgow, where he attended university. He was a CAFOD volunteer for a number of years and also joined the Volunteer Reference Group at CAFOD. Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD, commented “We are so pleased to have you join the CAFOD board Matty. You will bring so much. Thank you for your dedication and commitment”.
Matty commented “Thank you to Bronagh Daly for starting me on this path, and for continuing to be an amazing friend and supporter over the past 5 years. As a CAFOD volunteer I’ve had incredible opportunities. CAFOD does incredible work around the world to tackle structures that cause the climate crisis, poverty, and conflict. I’m honoured and excited to begin this new role on the Board of Trustees.”