Charity needs volunteers to help at shops

A LIFESAVING charity that provides pre-hospital care to critically ill and injured patients is making a plea to local people to volunteer time to help keep its charity shops open.

A recent report by the Retail Trust, which surveyed more than 1,500 retail staff, found that one in five (21 per cent) British retail workers are planning to quit the sector.

Without volunteers, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity may not be able to keep its charity shops open or attend as many fundraising events this summer.

So the charity is calling on local communities to donate their time to support its rapid response emergency service.

With a host of fundraising events back in the calendar and its high street shops now fully open, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is recruiting for a range of volunteers that can help keep funds coming in to raise the £10 million it needs to remain operational each year.

Alison Hill, volunteer manager for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “Our volunteers play a crucial role in keeping our charity running – some work behind the scenes in administrative roles at our busy HQ in Stourbridge, while others are front and centre at our fundraising events. A dedicated few also support our retail operations across our six charity shops, meaning they can stay open and carry on bringing in funds to make missions possible. We’re proud to have a 200-strong family of volunteers who donate their time regularly or on a more micro-volunteer basis, but there’s always room for more to join the family.

Visit midlandsairambulance.com/ volunteer