Our involvement in the Kickstart scheme
One of the things I love about my role leading a charity is that there are so many ‘added values’ you get.
One of those added values comes in the format of the Kickstart scheme which was set up to “provide funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment.”
We were successful in recruiting two people who have been a total pleasure to work with. Below, Jason and Ed have written about their experiences working at Citizens Advice Wokingham — and as they approach the end of their time with us, to move on to new opportunities, I’d like to say a huge thank you to them!
Jason, Marketing & Communications
My role in Citizens Advice Wokingham was the marketing and communications assistant for 6 months — which mainly consisted of building up the online presence, informing residents of our services/events and any campaigns we take against difficult circumstances such as the cost of living crisis.
My Journey and the people I met
In order to build awareness of our services, I developed a marketing plan that outlined Facebook pages to post, tweets to post, guidelines on what to post on specific pages or at certain times, and marketing tools that we could utilise as a charity. This was slowly adapted and changed depending on what worked and what did not work.
At first, it felt quite daunting especially as it was my first job but then I quickly realised that I was overthinking things. As with all things new, it just takes a bit of time to get used to and eventually you get into the rhythm of things. Thanks to my line manager Gael Holloway, I was eased into my role, as I was able to turn to her with anything I was unsure about especially during the first month when I was still learning the ropes.
I also met so many other great people during my time at Citizens Advice Wokingham and I’m very appreciative that Jake Morrison, the CEO was receptive to my marketing ideas. I know there were quite a lot of new tools being suggested!
When I was involved in more administrative duties such as transcribing client referrals to casebook (a repository of client information and updates regarding their situation), I was co-operating with my colleague Ed to efficiently transcribe referrals to inform the Initial Checker and Assessment team of the client’s wants and needs — while Supervisors Meg and Prasanna were on call if I or any colleague needed assistance. Updating records and making sure each case is appropriately tagged so that we will be able to ascertain what issues are affecting residents the most at different periods.
For the research and campaigns team, I compiled a report utilising a mixture of casebook tags and ArcGIS survey data outlining the factors that may be influential in the surge of applications for the household support fund.
While near the end of my contract, I was liaising with Nicky Phull the Training Manager to try to recruit more volunteers. As such, I posted vacancies through “Do IT” — a popular volunteering website with over a million opportunities, and created an advertising campaign through Google Ads to drive more people looking for volunteering roles in the area towards our website.
Highlights
I have learned so much since November and I feel like I have gained valuable insight into the problems that we face in this current climate as a community and what we can do to lessen the burden people may face.
There were plenty of resources available for personal development and information regarding other roles and responsibilities. One of the courses I participated in was Mental Health First Aider training which was carried out by Jake. It was an amazing interactive experience where we were able to interact with others and try to apply what we learned throughout the course, in approaching someone in distress and identifying the right level of support for them. It covered vital information that tackles what any one of us could be experiencing at a certain time, and with this newfound knowledge, we are able to grow as more compassionate individuals and combat the stigma attached to mental ill-health.
Good Outcomes
Online presence has seen a steady increase over time, as the Facebook page has seen an increase of 5–9% per month in overall reach, 5–25% increase per month in visits. While for the website, there has been drastic growth: 6–68% increase in repeat and new visitors per month and a 9–16% increase per month in page views.
I have also managed to introduce and secure a £7000 grant from google for advertising purposes — some of which is currently in use so more substantial growth is to be expected over time.
Conclusion
I would not change anything about my experience at Citizens Advice Wokingham and I am truly grateful for all the support and help I have received during my tenure. Everyone has been brilliant and responsive to work with. Working here feels like I am making a difference to our community, although I may not be on the front lines engaging with people, I am making sure they know we are here for them.
If anybody is thinking about a new opportunity to grow and thrive as a person while learning so much about the community, I highly encourage you to volunteer with Citizens Advice Wokingham.
Ed, Projects & Admin
My name’s Ed, I started to work for Citizens Advice Wokingham, at the start of the year on a Gov kickstart placement. Due to currently training to be a counsellor, I thought this would be a really good place to get involved in charities/helping the environment sector and I was right. The second week in I went out with the newly launched Mobile Advice Unit, a large van kitted out with: heating, an interview room, printing and charging capabilities and of course the chance to take our team to people who need advice instead of the other way around. It was a really good experience, speaking with people and providing an ear to listen. While we waited for the advisor to speak with them, I felt it really helped and it was good for people to see us out with the van.
My role has allowed me to take a back seat in the helping environment opposite my training as a counsellor, while also helping create a more efficient and comfortable working environment for our many volunteers and staff members. Working on these projects has given me a lot of passion and experience within the role, I was always accepted and validated for the hard work I put in of my own fruition, which gave me more confidence and creativity in expanding those ideas and skills.
As with everything, there are ups and downs, working in a charity is hard and there are sometimes challenges you are going to have to face. Within those challenges, I’ve learnt more about my self-awareness and understanding of these experiences, which crafts a wiser scope to which to look at the world through. When I have had issues I could go to my line manager and the external counselling support by lifeworks that are offered. I’ve really had an interesting journey while working at Citizens Advice Wokingham, perhaps just good timing, but I think the fact that I have had a comfortable and safe work environment with the support of all my superiors, has made my work and personal growth improve massively.
Citizens Advice Wokingham has a very comfortable and professional environment to work and volunteer in, a very experienced management team, that gives a calm and empathetic atmosphere to the workspace. The office space was very good to work in, I felt part of a team and important based on the role and duties I did. I wish all of the team and the national team the best in the future and hope for more funding and support to all, to give independent, confidential and free advice to all.
For more information on our work please visit our website www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk
