Brian's story

Our retail volunteers make an immense contribution to St Oswald’s Hospice. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to open our 24 regional charity shops and raise all of the money we need to provide high quality expert care to local families. Read Brian’s volunteering story:

Brian said:

“I started volunteering once a week in St Oswald’s Hospice shop in West Denton in November 2019 and I usually work ‘behind-the-scenes’, organising stock and steaming the clothes. I decided to become a volunteer as I was struggling to find paid employment so decided to do something worthwhile with my time.

“Although I’d heard of St Oswald’s Hospice before I started volunteering, I had no idea how many shops we had. The shops are a big part of the charity’s fundraising efforts, and it’s great to be a part of that. I’ve made lots of new friends through volunteering, and I enjoy every shift at the shop, knowing I’m giving something back to my community.

“Something I’ve noticed since I started at St Oswald’s is how generous people are, both in terms of donations but also the amount of time volunteers give to the charity. You never know what donations we’re going to receive which is interesting.

“Not long after I started volunteering the pandemic began. Covid-19 has been tough on everyone, and the Hospice has really supported me. While the shops were closed and I was unable to volunteer I had a few phone calls from my colleagues checking on my wellbeing and making sure I was ok. We also have a weekly email update and can keep in touch through a dedicated Facebook page so despite the challenges the pandemic has brought, I’ve kept up to date with what’s going on at the Hospice and the contact helped keep my chin up.”

HUGE thank you this #VolunteersWeek to Brian and all of our incredible retail volunteers for all of your hard work and support.