I couldn’t want for a better team, we all look after each other. If I could volunteer 5 days a week, I would.
I’m Jan, and I’ve been volunteering for The Children’s Trust at the Maidstone shop for 4 years.
I remember that I was just walking down the street one day passing the Maidstone shop and a young lady just asked if I’d like to volunteer and I thought, 'I'll give it a go!'
Next thing I knew I was inside meeting the Shop Manager, and I've been enjoying every minute of it ever since!
Volunteering during the pandemic hasn't been too different from volunteering normally really, apart from the obvious things. We wear masks throughout the day, wipe everything down, stay observant of where everyone is, and we can't touch donations for 48 hours. It's what you've got to do to keep customers and each other safe, so we just get on and do it! The Shop Managers are very good at keeping it safe for us, it's second nature now.
One of my favourite things about volunteering is teaching other volunteers and supporting them in knowing what to do. I'm really looking forward to when the whole team can return to volunteering.
I couldn’t want for a better team, we all look after each other. If I could volunteer 5 days a week, I would. If you're thinking about volunteering, come and have a go - I'm sure you'll say 'yes' when you meet us all and want to volunteer just as much as I did!
