Chief Executive of the Bromley by Bow Centre is announced as The Reader’s latest Patron

Rob Trimble, CEO of the Bromley by Bow Centre, an innovative community organisation in East London, has become a Patron of The Reader charity. His patronage comes in recognition of the way The Reader improves health and wellbeing for thousands of people across the UK, through its pioneering Shared Reading groups.

The Reader reaches over 4,000 beneficiaries every week and independently conducted research at the University of Liverpool has shown outcomes including improved mood, concentration, confidence and sense of belonging for members of the free-to-attend Shared Reading groups in clinical, educational, criminal justice and community settings – in turn producing outcomes such as reductions in GP visits and re-offending rates, and increased levels of literacy.

In February 2016 Rob was named by The Sunday Times and Debretts as one of the 500 Most Influential People in the UK. Rob was awarded Business in the Community’s Sieff Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2008 and was shortlisted as “Most People Focused CEO in the Not-for Profit Sector” in the 2015 HR Excellence Awards.

Over the past 30 years the Bromley by Bow Centre has helped transform the lives of thousands of people in East London. It has achieved this by providing a distinctive, holistic and easily accessible range of integrated services in one place. Since 1997 it has worked collaboratively with the Bromley by Bow Health Partnership to create a new and unique model of delivery which has a holistic primary care operation at its core and it was the first Healthy Living Centre in the UK.

The services available stretch from healthcare for local residents to opportunities to set up your own business; from support with tackling credit card debts to becoming a stained glass artist; from learning to read and write to getting a job for the first time or a helping hand up the career ladder.

Rob is also a Partner (non-clinical) in the Bromley by Bow Health Partnership which delivers primary care services to 37,000 patients across four GP practices in East London. In addition, he is a Director of Allia, a charity based in Cambridge which creates incubator space for small businesses and is the UK’s foremost issuer of charity bonds. He is also the Chair of Settle, a charity that supports young people moving into their first homes, and is an Advisor on Public Health England’s Well North programme.

Rob joins an illustrious list of The Reader’s Patrons, including:

* Children’s authors David Almond and Frank Cottrell-Boyce

* Adult authors A S Byatt, Howard Jacobson, Brian Keenan and Jeanette Winterson

* Poets David Constantine, Blake Morrison, Sir Andrew Motion and Lemn Sissay MBE

* Actors Shaun Evans and Maxine Peake

* Writer, campaigner and columnist Erwin James

Speaking of his patronage, Rob said:

“I have spent the last 14 years working with teams of people focused on creating healthy communities in some of the most challenging places. It has become very clear that the single most important drivers for health are the quality of human relationships people enjoy and their ability to express their hopes and fears. The work of the Reader brings these two strands together in perfect harmony and it is an absolute honour to represent the organisation as one of its Patrons."

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About The Reader

The Reader is a charity that addresses social isolation and breaks down barriers to enjoying literature through Shared Reading, making reading a communal and accessible activity. Every week in commissioned projects across the UK, we’re running Shared Reading groups in a wide range of health, criminal justice and education settings including care homes, libraries, schools, prisons, mental health wards and community centres. We read stories and poems aloud and invite people to share their personal responses in the group, building a supportive network for group members. Individual and

social outcomes are significant: in a community project funded by Liverpool CCG, 49% of reading group participants say they now visit the GP less frequently thanks to the groups.

About the Bromley by Bow Centre

The Bromley by Bow Centre is an innovative community organisation in east London, working in one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK. We support families, young people and adults of all ages to learn new skills, improve their health and wellbeing, find employment and develop the confidence to achieve their goals and transform their lives. At the core of the Centre’s thinking is our belief in people and their capacity to achieve amazing things.