Jill Ross left city firm Accenture to help start See The Difference
Jill Ross gave up two thirds of her salary and left consulting firm Accenture in 2009 to help get See The Difference started. When she arrived it was no more than a paper concept. Now, 2 years on, she reflects on five things she has learned…
1. “Did you know Post-It notes cost £12?”
“Going live with 500 volunteers, 150 charities and 25 companies was a great buzz. And my family was really proud, you know, having given up the big city job to do something pretty far out.
I got involved because I wanted to see how my money was being used. I’ve learnt so much. Did you know Post-It notes cost £12 a pack? I remember thinking ‘we’re not having those’. Leaving a big company made me realise how much things cost and that charities need an infrastructure to be able to make things happen on the ground. Before, I’d always been anti my money going on admin costs. Turns out, thinking ‘I just want my money to go to a starving kid’ was pretty naive.
2. “Two ordinary folk making an enormous difference”
“I love Pam and Al at Troop Aid, two ordinary folk in Solihull making an enormous difference. They’re just good fun. When we talk to them, we hear all about them shopping around for the best bargains for their troop packs, so we always know when razors are on special in Sainsbury’s.”
3. “I’m not bothered about Ant”
It’s been brilliant seeing the support from the celebrities. I was most excited about Stephen Fry, the Tweeter-in-Chief, and Dizzee Rascal was cool. I’d love James Corden or Dec (I’m not bothered about Ant) to tweet. Dec’s definitely in my top 5 men.
4. “I just feel like a bit of a Dragon”
I love Dragon’s Den -. I think I could be a Deborah Meaden or a Duncan Bannatyne, and I do feel a bit like that watching some of the project videos. I donated to Youth Business International’s project with young Indian entrepreneurs, and now feel like I’ve invested in Chirag’s embroidery business. I think it’s rather clever, mentoring to grow a business – it’s See The Difference in action.
5. “I love the orang-utans, but I never realised human contact could kill”
If I had to pick one special project it would be the orang-utans. The film makes me smile, and like the best of our projects I learnt something I didn’t know – that human contact can actually be harmful to an orang-utan.
My birthday is Christmas Day, so I’ve created a personal profile on See The Difference and chosen the orang-utans as my favourite project. I’m hoping a few people will make a donation for my birthday. After Christmas I’m taking a few months off and hoping to see some of the difference that’s being made in Sumatra. That would be a really wicked reward after 2 years.”
So, especially for Jill, (and everyone else who loves orang-utans), here’s a joke:
Q: What’s white and swings through trees?
A: A meringue-utan
What the heck, we’re going ape for orang-utans, here’s a bit of Jane Birkin – she loves them too
