Charity shop needs helping hands

Oxfam’s Stirling store has issued an urgent appeal for volunteers to help it deal with an anticipated deluge of donations as it prepares to re-open its doors from Monday, April 26.

Oxfam says that sales from the first day of trading following the reopening of its English and Welsh shops were up 77 per cent on 2019 figures, with it being the most successful Monday ever sales wise for the organisation outwith Christmas periods.

The Stirling shop team is now bracing for a significant number of donations following lockdown decluttering, combined with people seeking to offload unwanted Christmas gifts.

However, the charity says it has a shortfall of hundreds of volunteers in Scotland with some existing volunteers currently unable to return due to shielding. More volunteers are needed to help sort and sell the donations in order to raise as much money as possible for Oxfam’s vital work around the world.

Tom Richardson, Oxfam’s interim head of retail, said:“Money raised by the dedicated staff and volunteers in Oxfam’s Stirling shop helps fight poverty and injustice around the world; providing people with lifesaving essentials like clean water and soap as well as the hope of a better future.

“We know from the last lockdown that people will have taken the chance to have a good declutter and we’re anticipating a deluge of generous donations.”

Volunteers are asked to give as little as a few hours a week of their time and can take up a range of vital roles, from serving customers to sorting donations and arranging window displays. Each shop typically relies on a team of 30 dedicated volunteers and one or two staff.

As well as volunteers, Oxfam’s Stirling store is also appealing for good quality donations.

In advance of the Stirling shop re-opening, people are invited to register their interest in volunteering online at https://actions.oxfam.org/ great-britain/shopvolunteering /register-interest/