AN Age UK apprentice shared her experiences with supporting Barnsley’s older community and going ‘viral’ on social media.
For most people, it’s a dream to have a job that’s also a passion and that’s just what Katie Cherry has experienced.
Studying as a level three content creator at Barnsley College, Katie, 23, discovered her passion for digital media after her university experience didn’t work out as she had hoped.
She told the Chronicle how she felt pressured to attend university after turning 18, studying a year of English and then history.
Ultimately, Katie dropped out of university to pursue her dream of creating impactful videos that give under-represented voices a platform.
However, beyond content creation, Katie’s heart lies with making a difference in people’s lives and that’s just what her career has allowed her to do.
Katie’s apprenticeship puts her in the unique position to be able to interact with Age UK service users first-hand, sharing their experiences with the world through digital storytelling.
Most recently, Katie had the privilege of speaking to service user, Raymond Horsley, who shared his experiences with loneliness.
Katie’s video went ‘viral’ on the social media platform, TikTok, with over 140,000 views, with people near and far empathising with Raymond’s story.
Katie said: “I loved getting to know Raymond, his goals are to turn 100 and to be able to tell his story, I’m glad I’ve been able to help make one of those happen.
Also involved with Age UK’s ‘Men in Sheds’ and ‘She Sheds’ programmes, Katie told the Chronicle how her heartwarming bond with service users have given her a deep sense of purpose.
She added: “It’s 100 per cent a rewarding job, I love helping people out and the fact that my job helps to bring people together is amazing.
“One of my favourite topics to cover is making videos on overcoming loneliness, something I’ve done with Men in Sheds too.
“I think it’s so important because men don’t tend to open up, so having a space where they can be creative is so important.
“I went to an Age UK Zumba class and seeing people who may have been stuck inside participating with a smile makes me so happy.
Katie admitted that her apprenticeship has pushed her out of her comfort zone, with her being thrown in the ‘deep end’ in her first month.
Starting in May, last year, Katie was challenged with co-ordinating runners for the Barnsley 10k race, shooting inspirational content on the day.
This year, Katie has clearly earned her stripes, having been selected to organise Age UK’s division of runners.
Amazingly, the young apprentice has quadrupled last year’s sign-up rate, with the number of participants leaping from 20 to 80.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Katie recently dressed up as an elf to fundraise for the charity over Christmas.
Organising prizes by collaborating with Barnsley-based businesses like Urban Burgers, Katie has undertaken a key role to support the charity.
Katie’s job has also afforded her the opportunity to meet with noteable online figures, such as YouTube star Danny Malin, also known as ‘Rate My Takeaway’.
Overall, Katie’s passion for content creation has transformed her from an uncertain student to a young woman at the heart of supporting Barnsley’s older community.
