Introducing Jackie Bland, Retail Volunteer

Jackie has since signed up to volunteer with our Jesmond shop to help St Oswald’s out during these challenging times. Jackie spoke about her experiences over recent months:

“I’ve only been actively volunteering since lockdown started in March. I originally signed up in January to join the bank of receptionists but with lockdown happening I didn’t receive my training and was not able to undertake the receptionist role. When I saw that check in and chat volunteers were required I volunteered to undertake that service so I had something meaningful to do during lockdown and support the hospice too.

I planned to continue the Check in and Chat service until I was able to go into the hospice for my receptionist training. However, the interesting thing is that the volunteers I was asked to contact were volunteers in the Jesmond shop and they are all so lovely and friendly I thought it would be great to volunteer in the shop as it would allow me to get involved with something outside of my home and mix with other people at a safe distance.