Last week I was in Hampshire so that I could attend the funeral of my mother who died last month. She had been very unwell for the past few years and was cared for by my stepdad and my brother. The CDA Trustees, staff and community have been wonderfully supportive and kind. Plus, the lovely people at coffee mornings who have shared kind words, and gently teased me to keep me grounded and smiling.
During my week off on compassionate leave I took time out for myself to visit family and friends, gather my thoughts and it led me to reflect upon the past few years I have been at CDA. Since joining in December 2020 there have been a sequence of challenges, that have impacted the organisation and me in various ways. As a business mentor said “any one of these issues would see many CEO’s crumble, but you have dealt with layer upon layer of business disruption. When do you rest?”
Well, the answer is that there has been little rest, for me or any of the team because we can all see what needs to be done to continue delivering all that we do. But last week I did leave the laptop switched off.
Here are some of the key challenges I have faced in my time;
- 2020 and 2021: joining CDA at the end of 2020 with little handover, the financial impact of covid, the lack of annual accounts, staff not being furloughed, contracts being limited due to covid operational issues
- 2022: having to submit a grant application whilst I was away on honeymoon (it was a last-minute fund and my husband is very understanding), various criminal damage at Barrow and Kendal centres (attempted arson, break-in, locks being tampered with and the theft of the lead roof from the kitchen). During the summer I was talking so much that I ended up losing my voice!
- 2023: being de-banked by Barclays putting CDA in an unknown situation. During this period, I barely slept and found it hard to concentrate on other things because my time was mainly occupied with talking to Barclays, researching new bank accounts, keeping in touch with the Charity Commission, our accountants etc to ensure we did everything as ‘right’ as possible. I began to blame myself and worry that I hadn’t submitted the right form at the right time or had missed off some details. I hadn’t but unless you have been in that situation guilt and worry is all-consuming. Again, my voice disappeared.
- 2024: Obviously, the impact of being de-banked continued and continues to have an impact however, the finances are slowly returning to the stability of the early 2023, thanks to an increasing market for the support work team, interpreter requests and the BSL training team who are running regular courses across the county.
Personally, I am waiting to see specialist in Liverpool for migraine and tri-geminal neuralgia, as well as local consultants for 2 pinched discs in my neck and a torn meniscus in my left knee. There are days when I feel very tired, but I don’t stop. I pause, then get back to work when rested.
CDA is a small charity and relies on the wonderful team of staff to make everything happen, guided by our Trustees and Members. Our next staff recruitment we plan to make is for an Operations Manager. This will enable the team to have someone who is available to support them on a day-to-day basis, whilst I continue with supporting the finances, fundraising, networking, contracts etc.
The picture is the shelves in my office, full of positivity and brightness – a great way to brighten up a day or help inspire positive thoughts.
