This month, we spoke to Matilda Ordonez, who’s been at LandAid for a year as our Communications Officer. Working in the comms team, Matilda plays a central role in bringing LandAid’s work to life and generating more support for our mission.
What brought you to LandAid in the first place?
I first came across LandAid when I was applying for jobs after finishing my Masters degree in international development. I was drawn to LandAid because of its unique position as the property industry charity. Working in comms this particular lens was certainly a challenge, but one that I knew was worth exploring given the incredible opportunity our position presents in creating impact. I have always loved working in small but mighty teams, and it was evident from the very beginning that every single person at LandAid was not only passionate about their jobs, but that the dedication to our cause was at the forefront of how the charity operates. Ultimately that’s what led me to join the team!
What your role, how do you help end youth homelessness?
As LandAid’s Communications Officer I execute and manage our digital presence and strategy. As a small charity with a niche ask for a specific audience, tailoring our outputs becomes a crucial part in growing the support we receive from the property industry. This includes everything from social media to email marketing, improving our digital ecosystems and ultimately ensuring that LandAid’s digital presence remains relevant and at the forefront of our audiences minds. In turn, this allows LandAid to grow in numbers of supporters and therefore reach more young people who need our support around the UK. I work amongst a fantastic, expert comms team and we are truly doing incredible innovative things to garner as much support as possible.
What’s one project or moment that made you proud to work at LandAid?
There are many things that make me proud to work at LandAid, but meeting and working with the young people and charity partners we support has to be within my proudest moments. Having the opportunity to tell the stories of young people and of different frontline charities is something I will never take for granted. Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool, especially when its done well. It has the ability to move people and generate impact. I am grateful to be trusted to tell these stories, hearing first hand the impact our grants generate and being able to use them to create more impact.
What’s one challenge LandAid faces in this work that you think more people should know about?
The impact and stories we are able to share with our audience are only a fraction of what we actually create. To protect the young people we support, we will never be able to share the extent to which we change young people’s lives. Although this is a very understandable and necessary boundary, it does limit how we are able to communicate with our supporters. That’s why we have an entire expert team on it!
What’s one thing you wish more people in the property sector understood about our mission?
That everyone can play their part in ending youth homelessness. Given the magnitude of the problem, it often feels too big for any of us to believe we can have an impact. But the reality is that even the smallest effort can change one young life, and that is already a huge difference. We often measure results by millions of pounds or thousands of people, and although making as much impact as possible is great and necessary, sometimes reaching one single person can be enough. Coming to a LandAid event, fundraising even a few hundred pounds, being an advocate for the work we do in your own lives can have such a huge impact.