The Faces Behind Oxfam Magdalen Street
The tone of this piece of writing is going to be a little different, it will be more personal than the previous posts. As you read through and get introduced to some of our volunteers here at Oxfam, I feel it’s important to include myself in this. So, let’s begin:
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| Cerys |
Prior to me volunteering at Oxfam I had no idea of how many areas you can volunteer within. If you have a particular interest such as: an eye for designer clothing, enjoy sorting books, want to help with finances or even volunteer with Oxfam at a festival – there is something for everyone!
Here at Oxfam Magdalen Street we have volunteers who have varied in their time volunteering with us, from a variety of backgrounds and a range of different ages.
I spoke to a few volunteers to gain their perspective on what it’s like to volunteer here. Like myself, there are a group of volunteers who also attend University of East Anglia and if you follow our social media accounts you will have seen that we have introduced ‘#volunteertakeoverthursday’, where you will have met Ruby, our other social-media volunteer!
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| Ruby |
Here’s what Ruby had to say:
“Due to my volunteer role, I don’t have to come to the shop too regularly but keep updated through Oxfam Great Britain online pages and other Oxfam sources to create content for all social media platforms. I would definitely recommend to a person thinking of applying to volunteer here that it is a great opportunity to gain new skills, experience new things and most importantly meet the like-minded and wonderful people who also volunteer there. It’s such a rewarding place to volunteer!”
Some of our other volunteers have volunteered for Oxfam for a number of years. Trevor Humphries has volunteered for 21 years, John Ward for 15 years and Jean Huish for 14. Due to their length of time volunteering, I thought it would be interesting to see what was the most peculiar thing they’ve seen donated to Oxfam. Trevor said that the most unusual item he has seen was “acar”, and John said: “a live hedgehog! It was at the bottom of a black bag of clothing at the St. Giles Street store.”Georgie, who has been volunteering for 1 and a half years, found two jars of curry sauce amongst a box of books!
It is clear that from talking to people that are in the shop quite regularly that there is a wholesome, friendly feel to the store and it’s also quite evident to see. When in the shop every volunteer always seems happy to be there with a welcoming smile. I myself am not the most confident of people and I was worried about coming into a new environment like Oxfam, but everyone couldn’t have been more welcoming. And even for this blog post, all those who were asked questions by me were more than happy to answer them and it even got a little reminiscent between Wendy, Paul and Michael as they remembered an unusual bad luck charm that was donated amongst some jewellery a few months back and it was lovely to see. It’s like a volunteering family!
So, to end this blog post I want to encourage you all to consider volunteering, even if it is just for an hour a week because as Tesco says – every little helps! And it truly does, that hour could help make a difference. There are the obvious advantages to the role such as: it will look good on your CV and you will get a good reference which will look good to future potential employers. But, there are so many more rewarding factors than that, like meeting new people both volunteers and customers.
What would you say to someone considering volunteering at Oxfam?
John “It is a friendly place to work that will broaden your outlook.”
“It’s great fun, the staff are nice.” Bianca
Paul “It keeps you busy and will look good as a reference.”
“Beyond it being so fun and helping to end poverty, volunteering at Oxfam is a great way to discover new talents and interests and broaden your horizons.” Georgie
Wendy “DO IT!!!”
“Go ahead and try it, you meet lots of people and get to do lots of different things.” Jean
Trevor “Do it, you will enjoy it and of course be helping to end poverty.”
“It is so worth it, so just do it.” Mandy
“It’s great for your wellbeing and you can escape from student life.” Maisie
“Just do it!” Christina
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| Christina |
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| Michael |
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| Wendy |
Why not make a difference? If you’re interested in volunteering at Oxfam Magdalen Street and for more information contact: oxfamshopf2402@oxfam.org.uk
Written by: Cerys Rees
Written by: Cerys Rees
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