40 Faces of Brendoncare – Pauline Sweetman

After a long, successful career in financial services, Pauline Sweetman found herself taking a completely new path with Brendoncare instead of settling into early retirement.

“I knew my natural inclination would be to stay at home and find things to do, which isn’t healthy,” explains Pauline.

“Because I live locally, I always said I would volunteer for Brendoncare when I had the time. My mother briefly stayed in the Court for rehabilitation many years ago, so I already knew Knightwood. My then employer also encouraged me to start volunteering before I had finished work.”

Pauline began volunteering at Knightwood in July 2022. “I had looked at other volunteering opportunities, like being a school governor. They were ‘snapping off my hand’ as I came from a financial background! I also considered library work, which was a closer fit to how people would see me.”

Huge step:

Taking a huge step into the unknown, the experience of volunteering in an entirely different environment was a revelation for Pauline. “It was lovely especially being with the residents and going home feeling that I had hopefully brightened their day.

“I found the camaraderie with other volunteers wonderful; the staff were great, and it took me out of my comfort zone, which was good for me.

“Then when the opportunity of a part time role here arose – and even though my intention was not to work again – I thought that if I was part of the staff, I could contribute and learn more.”

Since joining the Knightwood team in November last year, Pauline has never looked back.

“I have such fantastic fun with the residents here as they are all so different and have such wonderful life stories to tell.

“One of the main things about moving across from volunteering to the staff is that I have had a chance to get to know all the residents even better.

“Some of them come along regularly to the activities we organise. Those who don’t want to join in may need a little bit more attention so that they aren’t lonely. Hopefully if you can coax them out, give them some confidence, they come along and love it.

“Part of my work is ‘selling’ the activities, and I think that comes down to the relationships you build with the residents. However, you must always be mindful that some will not always want to join in, and that is rightly their choice.”

As part of her team training, Pauline took several online courses which she thoroughly enjoyed and learnt from. “This role means I now have a deeper level of knowledge and of course, there is a lot more responsibility. Once you become a team member, residents and their relatives naturally expect more from you.”

Family feeling:

What does she love most of all about working for Brendoncare?

Pauline replies: “I like the family feeling which really makes me feel I belong here. I am doing this job because I want to. I have the passion, and I think that’s why I was given the opportunity.

“However, I can honestly say I would never have applied for a job here without doing the volunteering first.”