Leo interviews our Head of Services and Chief Executive
Day 4 started with me helping out the fundraising team to plan and organise their Christmas Fair. After I spent a few hours working out how to make the Christmas fair the best event it can be, I had my first interview. Iona Mitchell (Head of Cancer Support Services) was the person I got the opportunity to question. Iona's main role is to manage her team and make sure they are maintaining high standards. This is a really hard job yet very important.
Iona manages the Children and Families team, the Volunteering department, Community Bases, the Counsellors, the Therapists and the CLAN Haven. When I asked Iona how she manages all of these at the same time, she said it wouldn't be possible without the team and she is very thankful to have such great colleagues. The areas in which she is in charge can be very challenging as they are truly emotional situations that her clients are in. Still, Iona said she loves helping and making a difference for her clients, and that is what motivates her in tough times. The main message/role of Iona's department is perfectly summed up by a quote of hers - "We are to bring back what cancer takes away."
The last interview of my time here at CLAN was with Colette (Chief Executive). As the Chief Executive Colette is in charge of the complete running of CLAN. She is there to make sure the wheels continue to run smoothly and fix any issues which may need to be fixed. Something that sums up Colette's role of Chief Executive is a quote of hers, "make sure CLAN is providing the services that people affected by cancer need."
Colette seemed to have the same value of trusting teamwork as everyone else in CLAN. Colette also believes that teamwork is key to the success of CLAN and says everyone is important as each other. The 4 values of CLAN are - Excellence, Honesty, Respect and Teamwork. Colette is a firm believer in these 4 values and depends on them to help her run CLAN. Colette stated she is very proud of both CLAN and her workers. Colette says she loves her job as she loves the fact of every day being able to make a difference to someone's life.
Overall what I learned from this interview and all my interviews is that CLAN is all about supporting people affected by cancer both emotionally and practically. A quote that sums up the work of CLAN is one that I took from my meeting with Colette today when she said, "to be here for people as they go through their cancer journey."
