June, 2007, ‘So what exactly do I do with this English Degree?’
After graduating, I struggled to find my footing and understand what I was trained to do in the ‘real world’. I had always chosen subjects with heart and gut instinct, trusting that curiosity and passion would lead me somewhere meaningful. Naturally, I assumed my career would magically unfold the same way!
What followed was a period of testing, learning, and figuring out what truly motivated me. Along the way, I became a drama tutor, a classical music producer, a sixth-form careers adviser, and even a wedding singer. None of it was linear, but all of it taught me something. Eventually, those varied experiences led me into the charity sector, where things finally began to click.
During a stint fundraising and working in communications for some incredibly skilled hospital and care-home clowns (yes, actual clowns), I was introduced to the world of dementia care. Meeting the wonderful people living with dementia and witnessing the dedicated staff and brilliant charities supporting them, was genuinely inspirational. That connection led me to Alzheimer Scotland’ s door, where I initially joined the team as a corporate fundraiser.
And I stayed for eight fantastic years!
Over that time, I moved through several roles within the income generation team, managing some innovative campaigns, exhilarating events and ground-breaking partnerships, and learning from brilliant colleagues and inspirational leaders along the way. Latterly, and after becoming a mum (my most important role in life!), I managed the fundraising team as Stakeholder Engagement Lead during the height of the Covid pandemic. It was a period that required us to rethink everything we knew about how to support both our service users and donors during an utterly impossible time. And balancing that stress with a lockdown toddler was a challenge like no other, as all 2020 working parents will attest!
Those formative fundraising years and experiences at Alzheimer Scotland helped me build strong relationships in the external corporate CSR space. And it was through those connections that an opportunity arose to ‘jump the fence’ into the corporate world. I took a deep breath and followed my instincts again, stepping into a new role at Sky to develop a national, cause-led CSR programme.
It was a big pivot (and a risk!) but one that felt right.
At Sky, I managed the Time to Care programme, focused on tackling loneliness and strengthening community connection. The aim was to move beyond surface-level, corporate responsibility and build something rooted in authenticity and genuine engagement for our people and communities.
Running alongside Sky’s flagship existing Befriending service, I launched a community volunteering programme with 24 local charity partners across the UK, delivered annual in-house charity events across 11 Sky sites, and set up a national grant giving programme, supporting local Age UK and Age Scotland groups.
Time to Care became a real success story: award-winning, impactful, and - most importantly - transformative for people experiencing loneliness and isolation. It created a positive movement among Sky employees and meaningful change for the communities and charities they supported. And I’m proud to say that it’s still going strong.
But change has a way of making itself known.
By 2024/25, Sky was going through a significant period of transition, including redundancies and site closures. With a reduced workforce, our community commitments inevitably shrank, and some local charity partnerships were no longer sustainable. As a result, the work wasn’t quite ‘filling up my cup’ in the same way it had at the start. I missed being closer to beneficiaries, closer to the front line of the third sector action, and closer to the tangible impact of my contribution.
In short, the charity sector was calling me back!
I needed a role that aligned not just with my experience and qualifications, but with my values and sense of purpose. Around the same time, caring responsibilities and grief in my personal life had profoundly reshaped my outlook and priorities.
My dad died in late December 2023 after a long and brave battle with blood cancer. During his final brutal days, the hospice-at-home team stepped in and made an unbearable situation just a little more manageable - for him, for my mum, and for me. Until that moment, I don’t think I truly understood what hospices did.
So when a role in the hospice sector appeared in my job searches last year, I felt an immediate emotional pull. It felt like the right move at the right time - both professionally and personally.
I’m now the national fundraising lead for Scotland’s Hospices a new consortium of independent hospices across Scotland who have come together to create a stronger national voice for the sector. Our aim is to grow income, amplify influence, and ultimately raise the tide for hospice care across the country.
It’s daunting starting something new, with so many foundations to lay and structures to shape - but that’s also what excites me. I love building things, thinking strategically, engaging stakeholders, and turning vision into reality. Every skill I’ve picked up along my winding career path and every golden nugget of advice from previous leaders, peers and mentors is being put to good use, and giving me the confidence to meet the challenge head-on.
If there’s one thing I hope my story shows, it’s that there’s no single ‘right’ route into the hospice sector. Fundraising and comms teams are all filled with amazing people from wildly different backgrounds, and that diversity is our strength. It keeps the sector fresh, innovative, and human. What unites us is a shared desire to do good, to make a difference, and to care deeply about the work we do.
I feel immensely proud to be part of a sector that delivers such vital and compassionate support. Every time I step into one of our hospices, I see extraordinary people doing extraordinary things for families when it matters most. It’s a privilege to play a part in that story.
Claire Du Preez - June, 2007, ‘So what exactly do I do with this English Degree?’
National Fundraising Lead
Scottish Hospices Together