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Base Council

As young people are at the heart of what we do, we’re passionate about integrating their voices and perspectives into our decision-making. Our Base Council is a group of young people who access TRAIN’s provision and meet once a month to share their thoughts and discuss the strategic direction of TRAIN. 

If you are interested in being involved with Base Council, please get in touch with Lisa on Instagram (@lisadidcottrain).

Volunteers

Volunteers are essential to our team – enabling us to support young people in Didcot and Wallingford. We have an incredible team of passionate, committed, and enthusiastic volunteers who support us in various ways, from supporting in sessions, fundraising, DIY, administration or detached youth work on the street.

Click here to volunteer with TRAIN

Trustees

We are lucky to have a passionate, knowledgeable, and experienced Board of Trustees committed to helping us achieve our goal of supporting young people in Didcot and Wallingford.

Click here to meet the trustees

Staff

Ben Drabble

Chief Executive

Ben combines a strong background in charity leadership, a long history with TRAIN, and a deep commitment to supporting young people. He began his journey with the organisation in 2010 as a detached youth work volunteer and spent time on the Board as an Operations Trustee. He previously worked as the Director of Communications and Fundraising at a large international charity. Before this, he led an international volunteering gap-year programme for young people for several years, having transitioned into the charity sector from a civil engineering background.

Alex McSweeney

Youth Work Delivery Manager
Alex has over 17 years’ experience of supporting young people across educational and charity settings. For several years, he engaged at-risk young people in sport-based programmes at Reading F.C. Community Trust. Alex went on to become the Operations Manager at the Prince’s Trust. Through these experiences, he has developed a unique and diverse skill set, which enables him to effectively support the youth work delivery team at TRAIN.

Lisa Harold

Senior Youth Worker
Lisa is an experienced and highly qualified youth worker with a BA (Hons) in Community Development and Youth Work from Ruskin College and over 7 years’ experience in the youth sector. During her degree, she volunteered at TRAIN supporting the participation and residential programme, which inspired her to want to work for the organisation. Lisa is passionate about detached youth work – engaging with young people on their own terms in the community. She also has a passion for working with young people who are “hard to reach”, engaging them in positive activities that increase their social capital and opportunities to thrive.

Georgina Dawson

Senior Youth Worker
Georgina joined TRAIN in 2023, having worked as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner in several schools and outreach environments. She has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Portsmouth. Georgina plays a crucial role in the Mentoring programme at TRAIN and believes in empowering young people to make informed decisions. She is passionate about building young people’s confidence and supporting them to reach their full potential.

Charlotte Peters

Youth Worker
Charlotte is an experienced youth worker with over 5 years’ experience supporting young people at TRAIN. She grew up in Didcot and used to engage with the charity as a young person, making her uniquely placed to understand the needs and experiences of young people in the area. She is an advocate for gender equality and has led various initiatives to tackle violence against young women and girls, including the Safer Streets project in 2023, which was funded by the Home Office.

Yasmin Betteridge

Youth Worker
Yasmin joined TRAIN as an apprentice in 2022. Since completing her Level 3 Diploma in Youth Work Practice, she has been promoted to lead our expansion into Wallingford. Yasmin used to engage with TRAIN as a young person and spent much of her time between Didcot and Wallingford growing up. She is passionate about inclusive practice and ensuring every young person is heard. She currently leads our SHOUT! project, which is a youth group for LGBTQ+ young people.

Honor Gitsham

Administrative Assistant
Honor joined TRAIN in 2021 as a youth worker, having worked with young people in India and the UK at the educational charity, Project Trust. She completed an MPhil in Social Anthropological Research at the University of Cambridge and returned to the charity in 2023 to put these skills to use. She is passionate about promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion at TRAIN and beyond.