Hello, I’m Michaela. I have worked at The Gingerbread Centre since September 2011 and I have been the Admin Assistant during that time. Over the last 8 years, my role has changed quite dramatically; from printing, photocopying and writing letters, to recording and monitoring budgets and producing the annual review.
One thing that has remained more or less constant is that I am ‘the face’ of Gingerbread. As I oversee Reception, I am consistently the first point of contact for anyone contacting The Gingerbread Centre, whether it is in person or over the telephone. I am the often the first person who new service users meet, I am the person responsible for helping visitors and communicating with both new and regular supporters, and I am the person who answers the telephone. I like that I am the one to welcome people to Gingerbread.
Because of the nature of my job role, I don’t often get to see our service users face-to-face, unless they are signing in visitors or asking for my help. However, it means a lot to me to help the service users however I can and provide all the administrative help I can to my colleagues, which helps our service users too.
Though I am based at Rothesay Court, my role and responsibilities cover both Rothesay Court and Catherine Court. It’s hard to describe exactly what my role entails as it is flexible and my tasks change depending on the needs of the charity and the time of year. Many of my tasks are focused around data input and record keeping as well as research and data analysis.
My tasks include;
• Purchase Orders and Purchasing
• Managing Petty Cash and Banking
• Managing Budgets
• Photography
• Reviewing CCTV
• Processing Amenities Payments
• Updating Resident Records
• CORE Lettings
• Recruitment
• Updating the Website and Social Media
• Producing the Annual Review
• Answering Telephones & Signing in Visitors
I have a Level 3 NVQ in Business Administration and I am currently working towards my NVQ Level 4. My colleagues and I continually develop our skills and undertake training to ensure we deliver the best service we can to the families we support.
Each member of staff has their own unique set of skills which makes them the best fit for their job role. My skills are quite varied, for example; I am good with computers, organised, have a very good and varied level of knowledge and I’m very good at problem-solving, all of which fits well with the tasks I am responsible for.
I have a profound belief in the work we do at The Gingerbread Centre. Since 1977, The Centre has supported thousands of families in need. Because I believe in the work that Gingerbread does, I also try to support Gingerbread in my own time through my business, Winter Moon Crafts UK. Though my business is small, I have been able to provide handmade items as donations for door prizes at the charity ball in 2018 and as thank you gifts for supporters in 2018 and for a presentation in 2019. For the ball in 2018, I also donated money through my business to sponsor some of the professional printing as well as donating an auction/raffle prize.
Overall, The Gingerbread Centre is a wonderful charity and I am proud of the work we do here.