Meet the Team: Ceri

We interviewed another awesome SG staff member for SG "Meet the Team," where our young people ask staff some questions to get to know them better.

This time we chatted to Ceri, our Fundraising and Development Officer, about what she does at SG, the unique thing she collects, and what she would tell aliens about humankind!

What is your job / what do you do at SG?

I’m a behind the scenes person at SG! My official role is: Funding and Development Officer. So whilst I’m very involved in figuring out ways to bring income into SG (which involves writing grant applications, creating fundraising appeals, getting our name out to new audiences), to me, the way I interpret the ‘Development’ part of my role is sort of…anything else that needs doing to make SG more sustainable - basically, whatever needs to be done to put us in the best position for world domination!

What’s your favourite thing you’ve worked on at SG?

Andy dressed as a lobster, singing during the gaming marathon in 2024!

Supporting the Gaming Marathon was so much fun. I was putting out social media posts, and frantically clipping on Twitch to share clips with people on our Facebook page - it was so fast paced and hectic but I really loved figuring out in the moment what posts people were connecting with and what they wanted to see more of (mostly any time that Andy was singing…!). There was this really lovely moment when I think there was less than 10 minutes left on Andy’s stream, and he hadn’t quite hit his fundraising target which meant he was going to avoid the bean forfeit. So many of the SG community watching the stream were asking the adults to donate, and suddenly a donation landed that carried Andy over the finish line. It was just so nice to be part of a 24 hour community event, and feel really connected to everything that SG does :)

What motivates you to work at SG / what motivated you to start working at SG?

From the initial research I did about SG when I saw the job advert for my role, I recognised that it was doing something very different and special compared to other charities. It was just really obvious how dedicated staff were to SG members, and how included young people were in all areas of SG’s work. Coproduction is a bit of a buzzword in the charity sector and it was really refreshing to see somewhere that was doing this because they really truly valued the opinions of SG’s members. I also wholeheartedly believe in our mission - I really really do want to see a world where autistic young people can be their authentic selves, and thrive in the ways that others are able to. As a late diagnosed autistic adult I’m just so desperate for younger generations to have better support and be better understood than previous generations.

What’s your favourite Videogame / type of videogame?

I really like very story driven, big open world games. Read Dead Redemption 2 is my number 1 all time favourite, and Baldur’s Gate 3 is very close second. I also like games that deal with subjects we don’t talk about enough, like bereavement and grief - Spiritfarer is really good for that. I’m also into cute/cosy games like Touhou Mystia's Izakaya.

What’s your opinion on… Pineapple on pizza?

When I was a kid I would have said nope 100%, no way is anyone coming near my pizza to put pineapple on it. But as an adult, I think I could really appreciate the sweet and salty combination. The problem now is that I don’t eat meat and I think without the ham, a pineapple pizza isn’t going to work.

If you could have any animal as a companion, which would you choose?

A red panda please! Maybe it could fly too. And sparkle. I’m also quite taken with the Owlbears from BG3.

If you were the first human aliens met, what would you tell them about our world?

I think I’d show them a tree, and then maybe we could have a picnic and chat about earth folklore and alien folklore. Do aliens believe in ghosts…or aliens?! If an alien imagines being invaded by humans, do we arrive in cars or something?

Do you collect anything - if so, what?

I don’t know if this will make sense, but one of the main things I collect are sun glares in photos.