Volunteers warming up winter
Volunteers make the go world round and Rangiora is certainly is no exception to this.
With this week being Volunteers Week it’s time to reflect on those making a difference to the community we live in.
Ideally the Red Cross shop on Victoria Street needs to have a staff roster of about 24 people to ensure volunteers aren’t having to work extra shifts and that there is enough staff on at any one time.
Manager Maree Brogan said her staff are amazing. ‘‘They are all such wonderful, caring people. We are like a big family here, I’m sure that is case with many charity shops.’’
Right now Brogan said the main focus for them is pulling in winter stock.
‘‘We have such a shortage of quality winter stock we are always after jackets, they get snapped up fast. But any wool, merino and fleeces and hats and scarves are always sought after too.’’
‘‘It’s really cold now and and there is still a lot of winter to go so it would be fantastic to get some more warm clothing in stock.’’
Brogan said there are many rewarding parts of working in the red cross shop, meeting people and making a difference to people’s lives. However she said there are down sides as well.
She said they go through every bag that gets donated and while they receive some lovely items there are things they can’t use.
‘‘We don’t want peoples used underwear, with the exception of bras which are in good condition. We don’t want items which are really dirty and stained or that are worn out or have holes in them.’’
Brogan said they work hard to ensure the shop carries a quality standard for its customers.
‘‘We want people to be able to have a sense of pride in the clothing they buy from here.’’
Brogan said the make-up of a second shopper has changed quite a lot over the years.
She said the main reason for shopping second hand used to be affordability but she said while that is still an important component there are now a number of other reasons.
‘‘There are people who like the quirkiness and the originality of some of the clothes, people are looking for costumes and different outfits and some people are shopping second hand for environmentally conscious reasons.’’
Brogan said they are always looking for more volunteers. If anyone would like to volunteer at the Red Cross shop they can put their name down in the store and Brogan will contact them.