Kathryn started her experience with Oxfordshire Mind by volunteering on the Information Line in July 2018 – May 2019 and then started working in the Development team in May 2019.
She’s had a variety of roles since joining Oxfordshire Mind, firstly as a volunteer, then as an employee.
The voluntary role gave Kathryn an insight into the charity as a whole and prompted her to search for work in the mental health sector once she had graduated with a BSc in International Hospitality Management.
During my time as an Info Line volunteer, I took calls and emails from people reaching out for support, sometimes for the first time ever, and signposted them to the most appropriate services depending on their needs, whether this was Oxfordshire Mind, or another service.
Kathryn’s first paid role in the organisation, as a Community Fundraiser, allowed her to connect with many of our amazing supporters either through their own organised events or when they joined large fundraising events such as the Oxford Half Marathon. Read more about some of the incredible work our fundraisers have done by reading our Oxfordshire Mind Annual Review here.
During my time as a Community Fundraiser, I got the pleasure to support a wide range of local people who were passionate about supporting their local mental health charity.
My development has been supported since I’ve been at the charity. I undertook a secondment within the Development Team as a Workplace Wellbeing Trainer delivering mental health training to a range of businesses across the county, supporting people through the pandemic.
During this, I built my skills and knowledge in an area I have been passionate about for some time and decided that I wanted to take on a more service-user facing role. I have recently started as a Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner at TalkingSpace Plus, of which Oxfordshire Mind is one of the partners, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Working at Oxfordshire Mind has been a springboard for my career within mental health.
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