DEBRA held an Extraordinary General Meeting on Saturday 9th April at 11am, the purpose of the meeting was to consider a motion that the Articles of the charity be changed to make trustees the only legal members of DEBRA going forward. The purpose of this change is to reflect the priorities of our members and beneficiaries making us a more modern and efficient organisation.

The meeting was attended by 54 members online, in person or by proxy. Of those attending, 47 members (87%) voted in favour of the resolution and 7 (13%) voted against. With a 75% requirement for the resolution to be carried, the motion was passed and our Articles will now be changed in line with the resolution.

A key element of the meeting was an agreement that DEBRA will continue to have a majority of its trustees drawn from those with EB or a direct experience of EB and that, subject to further advice from our Solicitors, trustees fully intend to not seek any amendment to this provision without the support of its members, both legal and non-legal.

Trustees were keen to reassure its members that they will still have full access to all the member benefits they currently enjoy such as support for those with EB, use of the holiday homes, opportunities to attend DEBRA events, access to the DEBRA newsletter, invitations to local and regional meetings, and much more.

The best way for members to get involved and to have an input into how the charity is run is to become a Trustee. Trustees play a critical role in strategically overseeing the management and administration of the charity and ensuring that DEBRA is run in the best interests of the people we are there to support, our membership. If you would like to know more about becoming a trustee, please contact our company secretary, Ade Lawal, on 01344 771961 or email [email protected]

Together we will continue to #FightEB.