Our first in the VAR Chronicles series where we interview different members of the VAR team about their work.
I sat down for a chat with the lovely Kathy Wilkinson to talk about what led her to do the fantastic work she does as Mental Health Provider Network Manager here at VAR.
Sitting in the kitchen across from Kathy, I cannot help but smile. Kathy, and I both started working at VAR at around the same time; Kathy as Link Worker Manager (maternity cover) and I had just started as a Support Officer for the Infrastructure team. I can safely say as soon as we spoke, I knew we would get on; she is without doubt one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I can categorically say a firm favourite with us at VAR.
She looks incredibly nervous as she asks, “What’s this all about then?”
So! What led you to the voluntary sector I ask, and with her usual smile she starts to explain how her first toe in the voluntary sector was an accident. 13 years ago Kathy had wanted to start her own craft business with a friend and was looking for a training course being delivered by Spectrum Futures (part of VAR).
She was informed that the course was no longer running, but that day the stars were aligned, and she was put in touch with Kerry McGrath, Volunteering and Group Support Manager at VAR, who happened to have an opening for a volunteer in our Volunteer Centre. So, her current role at VAR isn’t the first time she has been part of the team here!
This voluntary work led her to securing a part-time job at Tassibee as an Admin Officer. This didn’t stay part-time for very long. Realising Kathy was an absolute powerhouse, her workload increased to where she was an integral part of the organisation.
This was when Kathy became one of the core members of the voluntary community. Over the years she has helped so many groups to shape and grow, becoming what they are today. I don’t think there are many people who care as much as she does for the community; she serves it around the clock.
When I ask what had made her go down the path of Mental Health, she explains that through the years different things had happened that had rocked her own mental health, and everyone around her was living with one type of mental health condition or another.
Being the type of person she is, Kathy took what had been happening with herself and used this understanding to bring mental health awareness to the forefront of everything she does for the community, partaking in courses which she then delivered to others making sure that it was seen as the important subject it is, and in the minds of the people who needed it.
Within the first two weeks of starting in her role as Mental Health Provider Network Manager, she had already grown the network to 65 organisations. And this has risen massively since then and Kathy is at the forefront of Mental Health in Rotherham, working with not only the voluntary sector but bringing in those from the public sector to reach their aims, and to build the “jigsaw” she sees as the whole sector.
Kathy has brought together so many organisations, the network has gone from strength to strength, working collaboratively to keep Rotherham's mental health at its core and making sure the community is seen as a priority to those leading our health services.
As a result of her work, Kathy has enabled Rotherham VCS organisations to successfully secure over £1.1m in additional funding to maintain and grow their provision - an amazing achievement, which contributes to the sustainability of the VCS, and a great legacy for her work and the whole programme.
Not only is Kathy doing her full-time job, she also found the time to become an ambassador for the Menopause, through the Integrated Care Board (ICB) advocating and bringing awareness. She is a member of the Strategic Board at Health Watch bringing the voice of the voluntary sector and tells me she has in fact just been elected Chair!
Speaking with Kathy you can feel the passion she has for her work; she is completely dedicated to making the sector the best it can possibly be through her work. She is a problem solver by nature, finding the gaps and giving people the tools to fix them with the support and the input they need to succeed, helping them to be the next group in the line, and in turn helping all the communities of Rotherham to thrive.
Everything Kathy does is for the uplift and success of others, she wants to see people thrive in their lives, in their work and this is just one of the things that make her the wonderful woman she is. I see nothing but great things for Kathy, she deserves every success in all that she does.
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