Kairos Arts

In 2022, Kairos Arts needed a mentor. Founder, Cathy Sara, had formed a brilliant working relationship with Lloyds Bank International colleague Jo Gregory, but Jo was leaving the island. Wanting to ensure Kairos continued to receive support, Jo introduced Cathy to Tanya Hotton, unintentionally leading Kairos Arts not just to a new mentor, but in time, a new director.

“Becoming a mentor felt like a big jump!” Tanya says. “I’d been involved in charity response forums before, but this was a much bigger commitment and responsibility.” At the time, Kairos Arts was a relatively young charity. Cathy explained that she would like me to work closely with Naomi, who was the Operations Manager. “I was effectively a sounding board for ideas and processes that Naomi had, such as the safest procedure to deal with highly confidential case notes and how best to support therapists in their work by implementing robust procedures. I remember being totally blown away by what Naomi had done.

“She told me some specific things that she wanted help with, alongside some other more general ideas. We set out boundaries very early on which helped to determine our relationship.”

Some months into the mentoring, Cathy approached Tanya with the idea of her joining the charity’s board as a director. “It felt like another very big jump!” Tanya remembers. “I took the time to find out what being a trustee/director would mean and the specific responsibilities that came along with it. After attending a board meeting, I could see that while there were certain things I didn’t have experience in, there were other skills I could bring to the table.”

Reflecting on her time so far with Kairos Arts, Tanya is grateful for the new connections she has made. “I’ve met some lovely people. The Board is very diverse, with lots of different skillsets and perspectives.

“I’ve worked at Lloyds for over 30 years, and the worry is that you can become quite insular and set in one way of doing things. My experience with Kairos Arts has absolutely helped with my work at Lloyds and has enabled me to be much more considered in my approach to decision making.”

“Kairos Arts is a very special charity. The work they do is phenomenal. If a person has been through deep trauma or abuse and is unable to articulate how they feel verbally, being able to do so through creative arts is amazing and can really help the individual. It’s an unusual form of therapy and we’re so lucky to have that here in Jersey.”