From a Lift to a Legacy: Celebrating Trustee Stephanie Stamp for Trustee Week

It all started with a meeting at a lift …

When SAVS first connected with Stephanie earlier this year to discuss the Balmoral Centre’s 50th anniversary and how we could support the celebration of this milestone, we were immediately inspired. While the original purpose was to shine a spotlight on the Centre itself, it quickly became clear that this was also an opportunity to highlight the remarkable woman behind it all, Stephanie, and the invaluable role Trustees like her play in the voluntary sector.

As the founding force behind the Balmoral Centre 50 years ago, Stephanie has poured thousands of volunteer hours into transforming it into the thriving community hub it is today. Though she humbly insisted the focus remain on the Centre, her passion, commitment, and story are too powerful to overlook - especially during Trustee Week, when we celebrate the often unsung heroes of the voluntary sector.

“I used to live with my parents in the flats nearby,” Stephanie recalls. “At the time, it was an ‘adults only’ building, so I was the youngest resident at 18. My father was very active in the community and had set up the residents’ association. I suppose I was destined to follow in his footsteps.”

The pivotal moment came one day when she was waiting for the lift. The building’s caretaker, a much-loved and respected figure, approached her and invited her to a community meeting that evening, saying it was about a new community centre that was going to be built "over the road." This was the first Stephanie had heard of any such plan.

“I went to the meeting as a favour to him,” she says. “And I came home as a member of the newly formed Management Committee. I had to ask my mum when I got back: ‘What does a Management Committee do?’”

A few weeks later, after attending her first committee meeting, she returned home again with more news. “That’s when I asked my mum, ‘What does the Chairman of a Committee do?’ And, when she asked me how I’d ended up as Chairman, I said ‘I have no idea!’ But, I was decades younger than everyone else on the committee, and I’ve since realised that they were far more experienced than me — they stitched me up!” Stephanie jokes.

Her mum’s advice at the time has stuck with her: “Be honest, always act with integrity, and work it out as you go along.”

“And that’s exactly what I’ve done,” Stephanie says. “I've been working it out for over 50 years.”

 

 

The First 30 Years

During the Centre’s early life, the Management Committee was primarily a representative voice for residents and service users. The Housing Department still held ultimate responsibility, setting hire fees, managing upkeep, and covering most of the running costs. The committee had limited financial autonomy, responsible mainly for things like crockery, soft furnishings, and internal decorating every seven years.

But things changed dramatically after 30 years.

A Turning Point: The Fight to Save the Centre

As part of a cost-cutting exercise, the Council announced plans to close community centres across the town. In Balmoral’s case, they proposed to demolish the Centre and build another tower block on the site. With no other community facilities in Victoria Ward, the closure would have been devastating.

Stephanie, alongside fellow community champions Trisha and Beryl, couldn’t stand by and let it happen.

“We mounted a campaign that irritated, exasperated, and ultimately shamed the Council into letting us take over the Balmoral,” Stephanie recalls. “They agreed on the condition that it wouldn’t cost the Council a penny.”

This marked the beginning of the Centre’s ‘second life’, 20 years ago, but the handover came with serious challenges. “The Council condemned both kitchens, the boiler, the heating system… we had single-glazed windows in rotting softwood frames, leaking roofs, unfit toilets, and a crumbling hall floor that had been the wrong material from the start,” Stephanie adds. A total refurbishment was needed, costing £250,000.

“I didn’t even have broadband back then, just a dial-up connection! I had no idea where to go or who to ask for funding, I had to learn ‘on-the-job’. I was so naïve. But we got there. And that laid the foundation for the Centre as it stands today.”

Self-Sufficiency as a Policy

While grants and donations have played a critical role in funding specific projects, such as a £30,000 refurbishment of the toilets or the long-running Street Tough Challenge programme at £9,000 a year, Stephanie is clear about the Centre’s operating model. “Our firm policy has always been that the Centre’s day-to-day expenses must be covered by its own income,” she says. “That’s not just a goal, it’s non-negotiable. Special projects rely on external funding, but the Centre must run sustainably on its own.”

And it does. Through affordable hire rates, regular bookings, and dedicated volunteer hours, the Balmoral Centre continues to serve its community with integrity and heart. “We cut our coat within our own cloth,” Stephanie says. “The more people use us, the longer we’ll be here to serve the community.”

A Legacy in the Making

Stephanie is quick to point out that the Centre’s success has never been about her alone.

“There are so many others who’ve been part of this journey – past Trustees, volunteers, community members. Every one of them deserves a mention,” she says.

Looking to the future, she is both hopeful and realistic. “I won’t be here forever. But this is a team game. Between the volunteers, users, and community backing, we have every tool to keep this going for another 50 years. And there’s nothing more rewarding than thinking about that.”

What began with a lift, a conversation, and a favour to a well-loved caretaker has become a lasting legacy of community, care, and commitment.

This Trustee Week, we celebrate Stephanie, a shining example of what it means to be a Trustee: passionate, resilient, and deeply rooted in community spirit.

 

Article kindly provided by Emily French, Senior Communications Officer, SAVS