Birmingham Hospice hosted an evening celebrating the vital contribution of its retail volunteers at its Harborne superstore, Reloved Brum, last week.
Volunteers play a vital role across the charity’s 20 stores, serving customers and sorting stock, as well as bringing their own knowledge and expertise to product areas like fashion or books, or specific tasks such as window design or social media.
Last year, the hospice’s volunteers gave an astonishing 54,000 hours of their time – the equivalent of over £500,000 in potential salary costs.
Simon Fuller, CEO of Birmingham Hospice, said at the event: “Volunteering is the foundation of our existence as a hospice. The impact of your individual and collective time is phenomenal and we’re extremely grateful.”
There were awards for long service – some over 25 years – and others who have gone above and beyond in their support of the hospice.
Two of the longest-serving volunteers were Joyce Toon and Marianne Jones from the Cotteridge store, who have been with the hospice for 25 and 28 years, respectively.
Joyce said: “I used to do door-to-door collections for St Mary’s Hospice, and worked in a couple of other shops before I came to Cotteridge. It’s good to do something local, and know that you’re supporting such a good cause.
“We have our regulars who often pop in – even if they don’t buy something that day, they’ll stop for a chat – there’s a real sense of community around the shop.”
The charity’s Dorridge store has one of the biggest teams of volunteers, with around 25 overall, and it even has a waiting list of people wanting to join the team, several of whom received long service awards on the night.
Among them was Larraine Adams, who said: “It is a great place to volunteer, a great charity, and as I’ve had personal support from Birmingham Hospice in the past, it is very rewarding to help out – I love it.”
Her colleague Denise Malone added: “The people at Dorridge are absolutely brilliant, from the designs of our windows to the ambience of the shop, it’s second to none, and we’re all genuinely one big family.”
