Volunteers are the heart of the hospice

Volunteers Week kicks off on Friday (1st June) and so St. Joseph’s Hospice is celebrating and championing all the inspiring volunteers who keep the hospice going every single day.

Over one hundred volunteers from across Merseyside give up their own time every week to work in one of the charity’s shops but they still need more.

Shop volunteering is one of the most valuable ways of supporting the hospice as its shops are a crucial source of income, raising over £100k each year. This money goes directly towards caring for patients at the hospice in Thornton.

Gill Jones (59), from Maghull, (pictured below right) started working at the St. Joseph’s Hospice shop, on Westway in Maghull, just four weeks ago. Gill spent her career working for the family flooring business but, as the business grew, her son took over and she found herself with more time on her hands.

“I still work at our flooring business a few days a week but I was so proud to step back and hand the business over to my son. However, after such a busy career, I found myself bored at home and so I decided to see it as an opportunity to do something else, something rewarding.

“As I had retail experience, I decided to visit the local hospice shop and they were so welcoming from the moment I walked through the door. I just help out one morning a week so it’s not a huge commitment but it is great fun. There’s a real family atmosphere between the volunteers in the shop and with the shop manager Susan.

“I’m very proud to support my local hospice and it keeps me entertained. I have made some lovely new friends too.”

Maggie Linge (69), from Maghull, and Dorothy Reynolds (73), from Lydiate, (pictured below left) have volunteered at the hospice shop in Maghull since it opened at its previous location on Central Square. In fact, they have both worked there since it was an Oxfam shop over 30 years ago!

Maggie said: “We both do the same morning shift we always have done. It’s great company when you’re retired. It gets you out and about and doing some good for an important local charity. My husband, Keith, passed away seven years ago and working in the shop helped me a lot. It gave me a real purpose to get up and do something positive. The support network was wonderful too.”

Dorothy added: “We have a really close-knit community at the shop which offers friendship and companionship. As shop volunteers, we really feel like we’re contributing to an important local charity.”

If you can spare a little time each week to help, please call 0151 932 6046 or email siobhan.clinton@jospice.org.uk.

Pictured (l-r): Maggie Linde, Dorothy Reynolds and (right) Gill Jones - volunteers at our shop on Westway in Maghull.