We are UHB: Pippa Preston, Fundraising Officer

After my A Levels, I really liked philosophy and so I decided to study an undergraduate degree in Ethics, Religion and Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University. I really enjoyed it, and I found a love of ethics and helping people. I loved bioethics, and the medical side of it. After that degree, I then decided to pursue a Masters in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, where I became even more interested in bioethics. So, I wrote my dissertation on patient autonomy and the topic of how we should make treatment decisions on behalf of non-autonomous patients.

After I finished my masters degree, and a part-time job at Starbucks, I started working at University Hospitals Birmingham Charity in September 2022 as a Grants Assistant. UHB Charity is the official charity of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) made up of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) Charity, Heartlands Hospital Charity, Good Hope Hospital Charity and Solihull Hospital Charity. We work to support patients, families and colleagues by providing 'added extras' that are over and above that which is provided by the NHS. The charity provide grants for items including equipment, facilities and items to support patient and staff welfare.

A couple of months into the Grants Assistant role, I realised how much I enjoyed writing, so someone suggested I go into Trust and Foundations Fundraising. This entails working to gain support from charitable trusts and foundations that are empowered to make grants for charitable purposes.?Essentially, it’s the process of getting all our projects together and putting in applications to external grant making bodies. In January 2023, I took on a split in Grants and Trust and Foundations Fundraising, which I enjoyed. When UHB moved to its new site-based operating model in October 2023, UHB charity did the same and an exciting opportunity came up for me to become a full-time fundraiser at QEHB.

Alongside this role, I'm studying for a Certificate in Fundraising with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) to try and further my development and knowledge. I also volunteer for the CIOF West Midlands Committee as their secretary. There isn’t a day in this job that is the same as the next. It's so fast-paced, but it is fantastic. The main part of my day is going out to wards and departments and understanding how we're able to support them. For example, I work a lot with the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Person’s Unit (YPU) at QEHB, finding out what kind of activities they want to plan to engage with people and how to raise funds to help the young people being treated on the unit. I also produce and send out a lot of trust applications to seek funding for our current projects/fundraising appeals. On a Friday, I'll always be in the QEHB charity hub, taking enquiries about the charity but, as a rule, I can be here, there and everywhere. I’m proud of all the relationships I've managed to build, but particularly with the YPU. One of my biggest achievements was setting up a careers event held in the hospital, for young people who have had or currently have cancer. I have a personal connection to the YPU because my cousin received incredible treatment their back in 2018 so I saw first-hand the amazing support that the ward provide. Ever since then, I have wanted to give back.

One of the challenges with my role is the size of the fundraising team compared to the scope of the hospital. We hear about all these incredible projects, so it can be hard to decide where to start first. On the fundraising side of things, it can also be hard, especially at the moment given the cost of living crisis. And ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of things have gone virtual, which gives a lot more people more time to create applications. So, it means that only one in 10 or even one in 20 are successful now. There are so many incredible things that we can do, it’s just making sure we've got the team and time to do them. We do our best to capture it all.

I'm a massive geek for learning, so I have loved learning about the hospitals and the work they do. I have furthered my interest in oncology and learning about all the different equipment they use including the Linear Accelerators and CyberKnife (which was funded by the Charity in 2013). Through my current role, I have unearthed my passion for fundraising and making a difference to others. I really do love my job and I'm proud of what everyone at UHB is doing day in and day out.

As a charity, we exist to support colleagues and patients and to go on a journey with them. This is by providing ‘added extras’ that go over and above that which the NHS is funded to provide. I think sometimes when you say you're a fundraiser, people think all you want is their money, but often it’s about how we're able to help them like providing information or physically writing their application. Each ward has a designated fundraiser, so colleagues or members of the public can start their journey by contacting [email protected]. Even if they have the smallest of ideas, one of us can help. We’re very open to new challenges and we're very approachable!

I know it's hard out there at the moment, but UHB and its people are incredible.

If you would like to learn more about what UHB Charity does, visit www.hospitalcharity.org