We ‘Asked Mrs Watson’ to tell us why she supports St Oswald’s Hospice

Our Better Together Business Club is made up of brilliant people from companies from across the region, who all have one goal in mind – to help fund the vital roles of our hospice nurses.

It’s a low cost, philanthropic membership  club for businesses in support of our hospice nurses. The money our members raise through fundraising activities each year helps our nurses to continue doing what they do best – supporting North East families through difficult times.

We have over 50 companies of all sizes in the Club, across three different levels: Members, Champions and All Stars. Companies can move up levels as their fundraising total increases.

We caught up with one of our members, Kate Watson, who is a big believer in digital empowerment, and supporting other businesses with software and data issues and digital skills and information governance, through her two companies, Ask Mrs Watson and CMLW Consulting.

Kate said:

“I started working in tech in 1980 and have grown my knowledge to the point that I felt able to help other smaller business and individuals by building a trusted resource and safe space to ask questions. That is how Ask Mrs Watson was born! It’s a membership service that offers different levels of support to meet a business’s needs and we aim to offer flexible support for business tech and information governance challenges. Some companies might not have the infrastructure to solve issues alone and we also offer support with upskilling staff on new technologies.”

Another of Kate’s companies is CMLW Consulting, where she works with larger organisations, focusing on Data Privacy and Digital Skills. In addition to her own businesses, she is also Regulatory Compliance Lead for the Clinical Services arm of an international employee benefits company, overseeing their UK GDPR/Data Protection Act compliance.

As well as a business owner, Kate, who lives in New Hartley, has two grown up daughters and a dog. She is a keen networker, regularly attending lots of events across the region. It was at one of these events in North Tyneside back in 2009 that she  connected with Amy, one of St Oswald’s fundraisers at the time, and was persuaded to take part in the Great North Run is support of the hospice,

In 2017, Kate’s friend Kevin started using the hospice’s Lymphoedema service for treatment and that gave her even more of an insight into the range of services offered by St Oswald’s.

Kate added:

“I felt inspired to join St Oswald’s Better Together Business Club as a way of giving something back to my local community. I have also provided complimentary training sessions for the hospice staff. I get a lot out of sharing my skills with other businesses and charities  and making a positive impact through my work.”

Kate has even inspired her family to get involved too, with her daughter teaming up with a friend to run for St Oswald’s Hospice this year, in memory of her friends mum.

Kate ended:

“The hospice enables good memories to be made amongst difficult times. It allows people to say goodbye to those they love in a caring environment and ensures people are well supported afterwards too. I feel it’s a very important charity to support and I am proud to be helping in my own way.”

Thank you to Kate for being part of our St Oswald’s Hospice family. If you would like to find out more about joining her as a member of our Better Together Business Club, there is more information here.

Alternatively, give our team a call on 0191 246 9123 or email bettertogether@stoswaldsuk.org and we can arrange for you to pop in for a coffee, chat and a tour of our building.