Humans Behind the Handles: Amy Jackson

We spoke to Amy Jackson, Marketing Communications Executive at Dorothy House.

Dorothy House is a charity that provides end-of-life care and support to people across Bath and North East Somerset, and parts of Wiltshire and Somerset.

Route into Comms

While studying psychology at university, Amy took a job at an optician chain to earn extra cash. Five years later, she was working for a voucher code website, writing blog posts and diving into SEO and social media. Although the role wasn’t quite the right fit, she discovered a real interest in copywriting and began looking for opportunities to pursue it further.

Luckily, she came across a Communications Assistant role at Dorothy House, a charity “very well known in the community” where she lived. When she got the job, it was a no-brainer. Now, she manages all the social channels and, just as she’d hoped, spends plenty of time writing blogs too, saying, “It’s all worked out in the end, definitely.”

Comms at Dorothy House

Amy starts her day like most of us: checking emails, going through social channels, replying to comments, and getting set up for the day ahead. “Then after, it's mainly scheduling the business-as-usual content.”

While her day-to-day tasks stay largely the same, the topics she covers vary widely. She might be writing about services, fundraising events or appeals, so even within a consistent role, every day feels different thanks to the range of content she produces.

The biggest misconception about her role is the “idea of a quick social media post” because “there’s no such thing as a quick social media post.” People often don’t realise how much work goes into managing social channels or how much thought sits behind each post. As Amy puts it: “My friends have got a running joke that I work in social media and it's not a proper job.”

We think everyone that works in social media can empathise with this!

The Moments That Stay With You

One of Amy’s funniest moments came when a nurse found a tortoise wandering along a road near the Hospice and brought it into her office. Amy was asked to post on social media to help find its owner, and some colleagues quickly dubbed it “Free Tortoise Tuesday”. The tortoise was eventually taken to a local vet and reunited with its owner, but the whole episode perfectly highlighted just how varied her job can be!

Another moment that stayed with her was interviewing a patient who wanted to share her story. “She was just incredible. She just had this amazing outlook on her death. She wasn't having a funeral - she was having a celebration!” On the day of the interview, she was even planning to get a tattoo with her friends. Amy remembers what she and the team at Dorothy House can do in someone’s final days, and how much of a difference they can make.

Finding Balance

Striking a balance between complex, often sensitive or sad stories and moments of joy and optimism is a key part of Amy’s role. She “needs to bear in mind the big picture” with everything she shares on social media.

When it comes to fundraising, she focuses on highlighting the fun, engaging side of events while still weaving in those “service-based elements”. Their Men’s Walk, for example, isn’t just a lively day out - it’s also “a space for men to come together and talk about grief, loss and mental health in general.”

As she puts it: “The stories are the heart of what we do, because that's what really paints the most accurate picture of care and what we do out in the community.”

Advice for Others

For those working in emotionally intense communication roles, Amy’s advice is to “be you and be open with your teammates” helping to build a safe, supportive environment where people feel comfortable speaking up if they’re struggling, and know their colleagues have their back.

That, and, of course, “never underestimate the value of a sense of humour” - especially at Dorothy House, where the vision is to create “a society where death is part of life.”

Thank you so much to Amy sharing her experiences and offering such an honest insight into her role.

Join us for the next episode of Humans Behind the Handles as we continue to discover the real people running the social media channels of nonprofits and charities.