Dedicated staff member Jennifer

Jennifer, one of our staff memebers, lifts the spirits of everyone in YMCA Wimbledon. Here is her story.

What initially attracted you to work at YMCA Wimbledon, and how has your role evolved over time? 

I have worked for YMCA St Paul’s Group for just over 12 years, starting in YMCA Wimbledon, then 8 years at YMCA Hawker, Kingston, and have been back at YMCA Wimbledon since June 2020. I had returned from a long holiday due to personal reasons to the UK from my home country and was wanting some experience to add to my CV, and I thought instead of sitting home I decided to approach the YMCA and said I want to volunteer.  My background has always been admin and reception and customer service, so I was offered a role at reception at YMCA Wimbledon and started on the 2nd of February 2012 (which happens to be my birthday!) 

At first, I found it quite overwhelming with so much going on. There were so many services being offered that were covered by reception – the hostel, cafe, gym, and children’s activities. But after two weeks I just decided to have the attitude of being an African woman, there is nothing we cannot do! I concentrated hard on learning and really paying attention to everything going on until I got the hang of it all. I was motivated not by money, but by the ethics of the organization. I opened my heart to love, helping and serving the community. 

After just a couple of months, my team leader asked me to interview for a paid role. I was successful, and I began as a bank staff first then later as a full-time position working in reception at YMCA Hawker, Kingston, in summer 2012. This continued until the Covid lockdown in March 2020. After a few months of furlough, my manager asked me if I could return to YMCA Wimbledon to help the reception team at the hostel. I have worked at YMCA Wimbledon ever since, receiving training and working my way up to become a duty officer and team leader and today I am reception manager. I like that the YMCA is extremely focused on its staff not just the customers and works around an ethos of putting people first. 

Can you share a memorable experience or project you were involved in that had an impact on the community?   

A project I was involved with recently which impacted the community was in October last year when we officially opened the new building for YMCA Wimbledon, and we had more than 60 delegates from the mayor to MPs to dignitaries of the Merton borough community through our doors. We gave them such a warm and wonderful welcome! And not only did we take care of our visitors, but we also worked internally to help the Communications team to gather everything that they needed prior to the event, during the event and after the event. My team and I had lots of positive feedback from the community, telling us how YMCA Wimbledon has been beneficial to them and their families. We keep creating memorable experiences every day for our service users. 

How have you seen the YMCA Wimbledon community change and grow during your time here? 

It has really changed for me since joining in 2012. We have been recognized for our approach to putting people first. Our community has tremendously changed, I think the attitude of people living around us has also become much warmer. People can see how we are impacting the lives of our residents.  

We have also grown since moving from the old building to the new building. The old building had 110 rooms, and now we have 121 in the new building, so that is more people we can get off the streets. I have also seen the life of the residents being changed and transformed, for example one of our residents when I started has now become my colleague. It is amazing because that is the vision, that is what we are striving for.  

What does YMCA Wimbledon mean to you personally, and how has it influenced your life and career? 

I am a bit emotional about this question because it means so much to me. I am passionate – I love what I do! I have a lot of compassion in my work, and my heart is full of joy. It can be hard dealing with the public and residents but every time I come in to work there is this joy in my heart because I am coming and serving my community.  

For me personally there have been some challenging times, and finding work in London coming back from Ghana was not easy. But getting the opportunity to be able to use my skills at YMCA Wimbledon, little did I know that I would get a job and be earning money from the same organization that I came to as a volunteer. Being here has really influenced my life and my career and I have progressed and grown as a person.  

We talk about how we are impacting our community and the life of the people we are helping. We also earn money and that has helped me and my family being from a background where we have the culture of helping parents and siblings. I am in love with this place; my passion for it is still there after over 12 years.  

Looking ahead, what are your hopes for the future of YMCA Wimbledon? 

I hope that we continue to be one Wimbledon and one YMCA, because our core values are the same. I hope everyone who spends time here will do so with such a passion to leave their imprint and make something they are remembered for. 150 years later we have never stopped striving to make lives better and enrich the community. We touch so many lives. I want to say a huge thank you to YMCA St Paul’s Group for this amazing opportunity.