A Week with WHY
By Marty Rhodes
I learned a lot in the week of work experience I had with WHY. One way I’ve gotten to understand the charity better is through writing this article and by speaking with many of the team members to understand what the charity means to them.
WHY holds core values of empathy, collaboration, integrity, inclusivity and respect. These run through the DNA of everything they do, from the counselling itself to the work environment I experienced during my time at the charity. Throughout the week I’ve come to better understand WHY and its mission to provide solace to those with both direct and indirect experiences of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This vision was born 30 years ago through WHY’s founder, Jill Miller. During her own experience of cancer she had a phone helpline installed in her house which provided the comfort and support she felt she was missing during her treatment. Starting from that experience over 30 years ago, WHY has grown into a vital organisation which in the last year supported 453 individuals and provided 3297 sessions of counselling.
I’ve spoken to the team and asked about what WHY and it’s cause mean to them. They provided unique perspectives on the stories that led them to working with the charity and the work they contribute.
James, Head of Fundraising and Outreach talked about the importance of making a difference in the local community. He said, “It’s important for me to be part of a team in the town that I live in doing work for our clients.” James emphasised the crucial continual support WHY receives from the communities where they work.
“WHY has been running for 30 years and the need for our services and support is only growing. Charities of all sizes are feeling stretched right now and we are really grateful to all our supporters for the help they continue to give us; we couldn’t do what we do without them”.
Some of the team have previously benefited from counseling with the charity. Claire, The Business Development Manager, told me about her motivations in developing WHY’s WHYinwork service. She told me, “I wanted to support WHY because I benefited from their services in the past and had the right experience to bring this into the market”. Claire explained that, “WHYinwork services are aimed at supporting employers to better help their employees who are affected by cancer and other life threatening illness”. WHYinwork opens another revenue stream to support the other services WHY provides, and helps spread the charity’s services nationally.
Lucy, WHY’s CEO, told me her story of wanting to give back to WHY because of the impact of receiving counselling from them.
“My son and I received counselling from WHY around ten years ago, during the time my mum was dying of a brain tumour. It was an incredibly painful period, and the support we got made a lasting impact. When I saw the role advertised, I felt an immediate pull to give back to the charity that helped me through one of the toughest experiences of my life.”
Throughout my time with WHY I have come to better understand the charity and the people that make it what it is. I’ve learned more about what the charity does, it’s importance and gotten to understand the stories behind the work WHY does.