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Hospice volunteers in Warkworth will be tempting potential volunteers with sizzling sausages and sweet treats on Friday, July 1.
The recruitment drive is part of efforts to boost volunteer numbers hit hard by Covid-19. The charity had 295 volunteers pre-Covid, but this has fallen to around 260 at present.
As a result, trading hours at hospice shops in Warkworth, Wellsford and Te Hana were reduced for a period and some volunteers have taken on extra shifts to bridge the gaps.
Revenue from the shops is vital for the work that hospice does, bringing in one-third of its annual fundraising needs.
Hospice garage sale shop manager Grant Vincent says volunteers are needed in the shops and to help with delivering goods and collecting donations.
“We are really eager to turn this around and lighten the load for our current volunteers,” he says.
“The roles are fun and interesting, and can bring real joy to your life. All we ask is three to four hours weekly or fortnightly.”
Harbour Hospice volunteer services team leader Vicki Parker says it is understandable that some of the more vulnerable or elderly volunteers stepped down when Omicron entered the community and are not yet comfortable returning to their roles.
“But we have strong safety protocols in place and our volunteers continue to have a wonderful time volunteering in our shops with a great sense of purpose,” she says. “We do desperately need more of them though, to lighten the load and help keep our shops open.”
“We have lots of roles to tempt people to join us. The main need is in the retail shops, but we also have roles in fundraising which tends to be for events, gardening at Tui House, reception, patient-facing roles including community visiting to support patients and families, drivers to take people to appointments at Tui House or to medical appointments, Life Review writers and people to support patients when they come to Tui House.”
No particular skills are need to volunteer for hospice, as full training is provided for all roles.
To find out more, drop in to a Hospice shop and ask to speak to the shop manager.
Volunteers encourage others to join them …
Dedicated hospice supporter Shona Pickup volunteers on many fronts, from events and fundraising to in-patient care and in the retail shops. She is also on the Harbour Hospice Advisory Board. She says as well as the camaraderie, laughs and pleasure of doing something for the community, helping with the in-patient care has made her realise that no matter how rich you are, you can’t buy good health. “So the moral of story is share and enjoy what you have now,” she says.
Alan Sandrey, 68, has been a hospice volunteer for two years, helping at the garage sales at Tui House every Thursday morning. The retired real estate manager says he enjoys the interaction with the community and it has opened his eyes to the challenging circumstances that some families are facing. “It makes you realise that while we are volunteering to help hospice, the goods that we’re delivering are also helping a lot of people in our area who are struggling,” he says. “You don’t volunteer for any personal reward, but there is a feel-good factor in doing something for the community and we have a lot of laughs.” Alan says he’d like to see some younger men volunteer as shifting furniture and other goods can be heavy work at times.
