One of Eden Valley Hospice’s charity shops needs more volunteers to help it fully reopen after lockdown.
The shop in Penrith started trading again in April but currently doesn’t open on Mondays because of the staff shortage.
Paul Sorrell, Eden Valley’s interim head of retail, said they were looking for another five to 10 volunteers to join the 15 to 20 who currently work with shop manager Georgina Scaife.
“Traditionally it’s been a tricky place to recruit volunteers. The ones we recruit tend to stay for a very long time but they were a bit thin on the ground in terms of numbers. And then obviously then the pandemic hit.
“They’ve struggled a bit on Saturdays and obviously we want to open on Mondays as well. It’s having the resources to be able to do that.”
Among volunteers’ duties are operating the tills, advising customers and encouraging them to sign up for Gift Aid, and sorting through donations, pricing up those considered saleable and disposing of the rest.
Mr Sorrell said: “Clothing in Penrith is probably the biggest area, particularly women’s clothing. Sales are very strong there. But they also sell what you might call bric-a-brac. We also have a book section which is quite extensive.”
Volunteers can be of all ages from students to retired people with a friendly, engaging manner the key requirement and previous experience of retail is a handy asset.
“Charity shoppers tend to be a bit different,” added Mr Sorrell. “They tend to be browsers. They’re not always coming in with a particular focus in terms of what they want so it’s very much impulse. It’s about building that kind of relationship with the customers.”
Eden Valley recently closed its shops in Wigton and Brampton but Mr Sorrell stressed the Penrith store was not at risk.
“It’s making good money. We’ve been doing probably 15-20 per cent above what we were doing two years ago this summer. So it’s been a really good return to trading and means that even more funds can be spent on providing high-quality care to local people with life-limiting illnesses,” he said.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, visit the shop on Devonshire Street for an application form or download one from the hospice’s website – https://www.edenvalleyhospice.org/volunteer/vol-application-form.
Alternatively, call 01228 817619 or email peopleservices@edenvalleyhospice.org
