Shops offer taster for its own have-a-go heroes
AS part of The Big Help Out, a national initiative to raise awareness and provide opportunities for volunteering, St Ann’s Hospice is offering volunteer taster sessions for anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering at their charity shops.
The taster sessions will take place every Thursday until June 8 across six of their charity shops. in Heald Green, Stockport, Edgeley, Sale, Altrincham and Little Hulton. All the sessions are two hours, either from 10am-12pm or 2-4pm.
This is a great opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills, all whilst doing your bit to support St Ann’s Hospice.
Trudi Ogden, head of trading at St Ann’s Hospice, says: “We are really pleased to be part of The Big Help Out and to offer taster sessions for volunteers in our St Ann’s Hospice charity shops.
Our shops raise thousands of pounds for St Ann’s Hospice every year and we couldn’t continue to do this without the work and commitment of our shop volunteers.
“Volunteering in our shops is a great way to meet new people and learn new skills, while making a valuable contribution to St Ann’s.
“The volunteer taster sessions provide an opportunity for anyone curious about volunteering to meet the shop teams and find out more about how our volunteers help, from sorting donated items and preparing them for sale to creating exciting window displays.”
Ian Stewart, a volunteer at the St Ann’s Hospice shop in Sale, has been volunteering for six years since he retired in 2017.
He says: “I needed to do something moving forward and decided to give back to St Ann’s after they cared for my mum.
“I’d never worked in a shop before, but I like meeting people, talking to them and having a joke with them. I get on with the team and get a real reward out of doing it.”
Volunteers have been joining the taster sessions since The Big
Help Out was launched on May 8 as part of the Coronation weekend. The Big Help Out estimate that 6,510,000 million people participated in 55,123 events across the country, and hope that it will encourage further volunteer participation in local communities.
There are opportunities to become a permanent volunteer if you enjoy your taster session, with St Ann’s Hospice always looking for people to join their friendly teams across Greater Manchester.
To book a session or find out more details, you can download The Big Help Out app via the App Store, or alternatively visit the website at app. thebighelpout.com.