Lift Them Up and Shine a Light on Them

Trevor Fitzpatrick reflects on national recognition, quiet impact, and why the Youth Matters Awards matter

For Trevor Fitzpatrick, the idea of standing on a national stage representing YMCA Fairthorne Group was never something he had imagined for himself.

If anything, he says he probably would have avoided the spotlight entirely.

“I’d have said no,” he laughs gently, reflecting on whether he would ever have considered himself “award-worthy”. “Not because the work doesn’t matter, but because I don’t do it for awards.”

That is perhaps exactly why the moment stayed with him so deeply.

Last year, Trevor received the prestigious Red Triangle Award at the YMCA Youth Matters Awards for his work supporting service families – a recognition celebrated across YMCA England & Wales for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to young people, communities and the wider YMCA movement.

But when the award was announced, Trevor says the reality of what was happening took several seconds to fully land.

“I could hear Denise Hatton presenting the award,” he recalls. “I was hearing, but not really listening. The penny was still in the air.”

Then came the words: supporting service families.

“My heart started pounding,” he says. “I looked around at the senior team I was sitting with and everybody’s faces were beaming. Then suddenly it hit me what was happening.”

For somebody who has spent years quietly focusing on the needs of military families navigating deployment, uncertainty and separation, the recognition felt overwhelming in a way he had not expected.

“I felt intensely proud and extremely humbled,” he says. “Not just personally, but proud to put our YMCA on the map nationally.”

What stayed with Trevor long after the event was not simply the award itself, but what the recognition represented.

For years, the work supporting deployed families had been approached with what Trevor describes as a “single-minded focus” – simply doing what needed to be done for the families in front of him, without ever expecting wider attention.

Receiving national recognition changed that perspective.

“It didn’t properly sink in for a few days,” he says. “But what it meant was that the work itself had been recognised. It said what we do matters. That these families matter.”

That recognition has since helped create wider conversations nationally around support for deployed families and children. Trevor is now involved in a growing network of Deployment Champions stretching from Devon to Scotland, working alongside the Armed Forces Covenant Trust’s Early Years Lead to strengthen support across the sector.

Closer to home, Portsmouth has also introduced a Naval Navigator role to help build stronger connections between the Navy and early years settings across the city.

Yet throughout the conversation, Trevor speaks far less about himself than he does about YMCA Fairthorne Group and the people within it.

Having joined the organisation in November 2002, he has watched the charity evolve significantly over the years.

“When I started, we were two nurseries and Daycamps,” he reflects. “Now look at us. We are truly a community charity.”

For Trevor, the award became a reflection of the organisation’s wider culture and values as much as individual recognition.

“WALICE has never been a better description of who we are,” he says. “Welcoming, Active, Listening, Inspiring, Caring and Exciting.”

“The award proved something much bigger than one person receiving recognition. It proved that YMCA Fairthorne Group truly values its people, the work they do and the communities we support.”

“It showed that this is more than just a charity. It’s a movement.”

As this year’s YMCA Youth Matters Awards approach, Trevor hopes more colleagues across the organisation will take the opportunity to recognise the people around them – not only the highly visible achievements, but the quieter moments of impact that happen every day across the charity.

The volunteer who always turns up.

The colleague who checks in on everyone else.

The team quietly changing lives without ever speaking about it.

“What would I say to somebody thinking about nominating a colleague?” Trevor smiles. “Do it.”

“Lift them up and shine a light on them.”

Because sometimes the people making the greatest difference are the very people least likely to ever seek recognition for it themselves.