For Volunteers’ Week, we’re celebrating the incredible people who give their time, skills and heart to support the Hospice.
Sisters, Jan and Sue, share their experience of volunteering with the Hospice retail team. And how they found, community, purpose and laughter through it.
Jan reflects on why supporting the Hospice means so much to them. “The Hospice wasn’t around when our father died. But I think our mother would’ve really benefited from some bereavement support. The Hospice is so highly spoken of in the community, it’s important for us to give back and support such an important cause.”
Sue’s volunteering journey began nearly 40 years ago, when her next-door neighbour opened the very first St Michael’s Hospice shop. Later Jan joined her and they’ve been there sorting through stock ever since. A couple of years ago, when they realised that the Donation Centre was overrun with a mountain of arts and crafts supplies, they jumped straight in to help sort it.
Jan followed a slightly different path. She first volunteered packing newsletters, then supported the physiotherapists in the Wellbeing Programme. After Covid, she joined Sue at the Donation Centre, and the pair have been a team ever since.
The joy they get from volunteering is clear. “Firstly, we just have a really good laugh. All the team here are so welcoming and helpful.” Jan shares. Sue adds, “When you give up work, you lose a lot of your daytime social life. So, when you come to something like this, you’re chatting to people and laughing with people again.”
Each week, Jan and Sue sort through an everchanging pile of art and craft donations. From precious Japanese paper to endless bundles of wool. “There’s always something to do, we never get to the bottom of it. And you never know what you’re about to find. So it’s never boring,” says Sue.
They also keep an eye out for items that could support seasonal displays and events. “We look out for things to put aside for the different events like Jack in the Green, World Book Day, Chinese New Year. We then send anything we find out to the shops to fit whatever’s going on at the time. We have a really good relationship with the volunteers in the shops, some whom we’ve never met! But we send little notes to each other about what we have in or what they need us to look out for.”
The sense of community is what keeps them coming back. “Everybody is so nice. Nothing’s too much trouble. When it’s your birthday, we celebrate with cake. And during Volunteers Week, we all go up to the Hospice, and they put on a tea party for all the volunteers. I would recommend anybody come and give it a go,” says Jan.
If you’ve ever wondered about volunteering, Sue has one final encouragement, “There are so many different areas you can help with. Just give it a try!”
If you’re inspired by Jan and Sue, and would like to find out how you can support the Hospice through volunteering, visit our Volunteer Opportunities page.
