Spotlight on: Karolina Gerlich – from volunteer to CEO of care workers charity the National Association of Care and Support Workers

Karolina became a Dot Dot Dot guardian in 2017, living in Canning Town, east London. When she wasn’t a full-time care worker, Karolina was spending much of her free time volunteering with the National Association of Care and Support Workers, acting as CEO. Find out from Karolina how guardianship and volunteering enabled her to gain a full-time paid role as the chief executive of the charity she had dedicated her spare time to.

During the first two years of my guardianship with Dot Dot Dot, I was working full time as a care worker. At the same time, I was dedicating a huge amount of time to volunteering as the CEO of the National Association of Care and Support Workers. I was spending much of my time helping to give care workers a voice, representing the workforce and participating in meetings with stakeholders. Ultimately, all of my voluntary work was around championing those in the profession as skilled professionals who make a huge contribution to the economy and to society. 

Being able to dedicate so much of my time to representing care workers with this organisation meant that as of March last year, I was given a full-time paid role as CEO. In my role as chief executive, I run the charity and develop stakeholder relationships and engagement. As care workers are a low-paid workforce, we give out financial grants to to support their wellbeing and mental health – there’s a lack of funding in the sector and so due to many having to self-isolate during the pandemic, there were also a huge amount of care workers were missing out on fair pay. Last year we gave £2.2 million to over 3,200 care workers. 

I first found out about property guardianship in the Evening Standard. When I did my research, Dot Dot Dot stood out from other organisations doing the same thing because of the volunteering element – lower costs combined with volunteering was an idea I could really get behind. Other companies seemed to prioritise profit over people, but at Dot Dot Dot, they’re much more focused on doing the right thing and putting their guardians first. 

I viewed a 2-bed property in east London that I ended up moving into – there was lots of space and the value was unbeatable for London. If I’d wanted to privately rent somewhere of the same size, it would have cost me double the amount. I ended up being a guardian for almost three years, which was an overall positive experience for me as it meant that I was able to use my money more wisely rather than most of it going towards living expenses. If I was looking for affordable housing in the future, I’d definitely look to live with Dot Dot Dot again.

Read more stories from our 10 great guardians who we’re highlighting as part of our tenth birthday celebrations.