Winner spotlight – Liz Vivian
World of Difference UK 2009 came at the right time for Liz Vivian. She had just started looking for work nine months after losing her job and dealing with ill health when she found out about the programme.
Her chosen charity was About Face, which helps people with head and neck cancer across the south coast of England from East Devon across to Hampshire. It helps patients and their families through one-to-one and group support from a centre next to Poole Hospital, a regional centre of excellence for cancer treatment.
Previous experience
Liz had already been volunteering with About Face a couple of hours a week, so the chance to get paid to work there was too good to miss, although she didn’t hold out much hope: “I didn’t think I’d get a place. I thought they’d be too much competition or that I was too old at 52. When I found out I’d won it I was shocked and absolutely delighted,” she says.
Liz joined full-time as the centre’s administrator. As well as doubling the charity’s staff, her appointment meant the centre could extend the time it was open from two and half days to five.
She also raised the charity’s profile and that of head and neck cancer through her blog on the World of Difference website, which was rated the best blog by her fellow placement winners.
Huge impact
Her boss at the centre, Ian Catley, spoke of the difference had made: “Liz’s impact has been huge. It comes across in her blog, which gives a true impression of About Face and the effect it has on people’s lives through the stories she shares. This gives people an idea of what we do. Being able to talk to people on a one to one basis has a profound effect on patients which is why being open five days a week instead of two and half is so important.”
And for Liz, the placement helped her move on losing her job to a more fulfilled life doing something she loves: “It’s been an amazing opportunity for me. I get to work with some astonishing people; it’s very personally rewarding. It’s also led to full-time work. A month after the placement, the trustees met and offered me a six-month contract as centre administrator, and I hope it will be extended. Everyone I’ve been in contact with has been so supportive, it’s really improved my self-esteem and given me back a sense of purpose after nine months not working. ”
Interested in donating yourself to a UK charity? Find out all you need to know about applying to Vodafone World of Difference UK 2010.
