St Andrew’s Hospice in need of volunteers to help bounce back from Covid pandemic
TOWN CHARITY HAS LOST 60% OF ITS WORKFORCE
STAFF at St Andrew’s Hospice are urging prospective volunteers to come forward and help out in a range of roles after the charity lost 60 per cent of its workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic.
From shop workers to stock organisers and even people to see to the online side of things on the St Andrew’s Hospice eBay account, the organisation has a volunteering role to suit everyone.
Sara Redmond, Online and Trading Manager at St Andrew’s Hospice, told the Grimsby Telegraph: “We’ve lost 60 per cent of our workforce since Covid, mainly because a lot of people were nervous to come back and people’s priorities have changed a bit.
“A lot of our volunteers were more mature and we had people who had underlying health conditions who weren’t able to come back after the pandemic.
“We’re looking for people who can work in the shop, sort out clothes, and also for people to do the online trading side of things.
“We’ve got about 12 volunteers at the moment and we just need more people to help us get things moving a bit quicker.
“We’ve got various roles available. First there’s sorting out stock at our Wilton Road donation centre. We get the majority of the donations to sort out, like clothing, bric-a-brac, CDs, DVDs, books, toys and games.
“We also need people to work in the shop, so that’s serving on the till, delivering good customer service and accepting donations from the public.
“Our online operations are eBay, Depop and Music Magpie, so we need people who are computer literate and it will involve taking photographs and listing items.
“We’re also recruiting volunteer drivers, so that’s going out in the
It’s a chance for people to learn new skills and anyone who’s unemployed, it’s good work experience. Sara Redmond
vans to pick up donations and do shop deliveries, because we service 22 shops from this depot.”
Speaking about the benefits of being a volunteer, Sara said: “It’s rewarding because people like to support the hospice. We’re local and a lot of people have been touched by the hospice. It’s a chance for people to learn new skills and anyone who’s unemployed, it’s good work experience. It looks good on your CV if you’ve done some volunteering work. People who are lonely can make new friends and we’ve always got cake and biscuits, so that’s always a benefit! People’s time is the most valuable asset that we’ve got, so it’s really important we have volunteers because we can’t do the work we do for the hospice without them.” To get in touch with St Andrew’s Hospice about becoming a volunteer, application forms can be picked up from the depot on Humberston Business Park, Wilton Road or call Sara or Dawn to discuss the roles on 01472 211300.