Interviewer

Good afternoon. Could I start by asking your name?

Sarah Jenkins

Sarah Jenkins.

Interviewer

Thank you Sarah. And could I ask which League of Friends we’re talking about today?

Sarah Jenkins

League of Friends of Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen.

Interviewer

Thank you. And could I ask how old you are?

Sarah Jenkins

64.

Interviewer

Thank you. So Sarah, have you always been a local lady?

Sarah Jenkins

I went to school in Peniel, and I went to school in Carmarthen, the girls grammar school, then I went to Aberystwyth University, and then to Cardiff to study to become a Chartered Accountant. And then, I came back when I was about 32 to Carmarthen, and I worked in the NHS for seven years, and then I set up my own practice, specialising in business startups and getting grants. And now, I’ve sort of taken a back seat, and I work for Crossroads Carers Trust.

Interviewer

Okay, so it’s a bit of a leap, from accountancy to Crossroads or is that my misperception?

Sarah Jenkins

It is a bit of a leap, but I didn’t want to sit behind a computer all day. I like engaging with people, and the job satisfaction is quite good. I’ve seen parts of Carmarthen I would never have seen if I hadn’t been doing this job.

Interviewer

So what do you do with Crossroads?

Sarah Jenkins

Carer support worker. So you provide relief to a carer or if somebody lives on their own. I don’t tend to do personal care, I do some, but not very often. I always say I’m not the domestic goddess, but I’m the entertainer. So you try, and engage with them, and encourage them. You know, I was with a lady last week, and we were talking about tennis. She didn’t know anything about it, she was 97. She said, “I really like snooker.” But then she was asking all the questions about tennis. She was commenting on the names, and you just build up a dialogue. So you’ve got to find a connection basically.

 

 

Interviewer

And what got you involved in the League of Friends?

Sarah Jenkins

I’ve always done voluntary work, I did it when I was in school actually I did work in a physically, and mentally handicapped unit. So I used to volunteer there, help with the children. And actually I remember now when I was in Uni I did Radio Bronglais. Then when I went to Cardiff, there was a befriending scheme. So I used to go shopping for a lady whose daughter was blind, and the parents were elderly. And when I came back to Carmarthen, my cousin got me involved in the local youth project. Dr. Mz named after a local GP.  I was a Trustee of that for about 20 years.

Interviewer

So what did Dr.Mz do?

Sarah Jenkins

They’re a youth organisation which provides somewhere for children to go. When it started it was for 11 to 25 year olds because they didn’t want them on street corners. It started off in a small place, just as big as this room really. But now, they own the old rugby club, Carmarthen Athletic, which is sited in the middle of town but out of the way, near the park. It’s a great venue. We got a lot of funding. We had funding to buy the building, and it’s been a win-win situation from the point of view of the rugby club, who wanted the funds, and from ourselves now because we don’t pay rent, but it’s developed quite a lot over the years. They’ve got children from the age of seven upward now. They’ll go on to the next level at 11 years old plus. And they sort of mentor the younger ones. But they do a lot of activities. They’ve got a kitchen, they cook, they’ve got a garden out the back where they grow their own produce. They’ve got LBGT group as well, which won awards. I think the lottery funding was 25 years ago. We were in the lottery brochure as being one of the projects they supported in 1999.

Interviewer

Excellent.

Sarah Jenkins

But I’ve taken a back seat now as I want to reduce the amount of responsibilities as a Trustee, but I still keep in contact, keeping an eye what they do. They’ve also worked with the League of Friends Glangwili Hospital. In some ways, that’s how I got involved then, because they helped with the garden, they planted daffodils, and things because they used to get time credits for doing voluntary work. It shows that League of Friends doesn’t just work in isolation, it works with other projects.

Interviewer

So that’s how you got involved.

Sarah Jenkins

Yes, I went to a coffee morning, and I met Arthur Phillips, and then I saw pictures of Dr. Mz  youth doing the gardening. And then my mother reminded me that her boss, David Rogers was one of the founder members of the League of Friends, and she used to type up the minutes for the League of Friends. So there was that aspect of it as well.

Interviewer

So family links over the years, friendship links?

Sarah Jenkins

Yes. And we used to go as children to the hospital to the fetes wearing fancy dress.

Interviewer

So we can see you’ve got a very impressive thing around your neck.

Sarah Jenkins

Yes. This was donated by the late Mrs. June Beer who was a very active member. It was donated by her, and her husband. She was a Life President, and she got a League of Mercy Award.

Interviewer

Okay.

Sarah Jenkins

Yes, so she was hardworking. I knew her from another organisation. So yes, it’s a nice thing to have actually.

Interviewer

And your role is now Chair?

Sarah Jenkins

Yes

Interviewer

So what is the role of a Chair like ?

Sarah Jenkins

Well, keeping order in a meeting. Making sure that our profile, and everything we do is okay. Coordinating everything, I think is the Chair’s role. We are having a meeting, the Treasurer Delyth, and myself, with the Chair of the Health Board to discuss how we can work together rather than compete. Because obviously the NHS is short of funds.  Unfortunately as a League of Friends, we can only buy equipment, we can’t do staff. As well it’s raising the profile, and speaking to people, telling them what we do. We had our 75th birthday, two years ago,  and we held an afternoon tea in the museum café, and we had the Lord Lieutenant Sara Edwards come. We had some of the history of the League of Friends with photographs over the years, and we had a talk, and somebody from the Council, and somebody from the Health Board came as well. So it was very successful because I don’t think they’d ever done something like that on a formal basis.  I invited the niece of David Rogers, and she was thrilled to be asked because her late father used to do a lot of work on behalf of the League of Friends

Interviewer

Excellent, and you’ve got lots of interests, and you are clearly very capable. What do you enjoy most about the League of Friends?

Sarah Jenkins

I think when I started it was being on a Committee or being a member with people from different backgrounds, and ages because a lot of them were quite a lot older than me. And learning something new, and having worked in the NHS, I’ve always valued the NHS feeling that you could have a wider spectrum to help, not just people who shouted loudest, but the support services like physiotherapy, we got bikes for them so that everybody gets a chance of getting some money really. People who leave legacies or bequests, they target certain areas or wards.  We have unrestricted money, and then that can go to support services or A&E . One thing we are looking at the moment is getting wheelchairs because people have to wait because there aren’t enough beds . Sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Interviewer

Absolutely. But it sounds like you’ve got some really diverse, and interesting things going on.  Now when you knew you were meeting me today is there anything you wanted to tell me you haven’t had the chance to say yet?

Sarah Jenkins

No, I can’t think of anything to be honest.

Interviewer

Well it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you. Thank you ever so much.

Sarah Jenkins

Thank you