John Fitzsimmons began volunteering in our retail team last year. Here he explains what his role involves and why volunteering is so important to him.
“My wife passed away last year after being in the hospice for about a month. I was very grateful to the staff at the hospice for all the help and care they showed my wife, and me. Afterwards, I decided I wanted to spend some of my time in retirement raising funds for Hospiscare. It’s a wonderful organisation and I wanted to do something to help.
“I volunteer at the Hospiscare Warehouse in Exeter. I go through items identified by the team as best to be sold on eBay rather than the shops. I set up the photoshoot, photograph the items and upload them to the computer. I search eBay for similar items to help determine what price to set it as and then post the item on eBay with a description and hope someone will buy it!
“The thing I like most about my volunteering role is the camaraderie of being part of a team again. There’s that office life that’s quite nice to be a part of where you chat about the work but then the conversation drifts on to what was on telly last night, what good films everyone’s seen… You become part of a team and that’s great, particularly when you’re retired. It can be so easy to lose touch with people and you don’t realise how important the work environment is to your social and cultural life.
“There are all kinds of reasons why people should volunteer. You know you’re helping other people and that feels good. You also get to be part of a team with a caring environment and support for you.”
Interested in volunteering for Hospiscare? We are recruiting shop volunteers in Exmouth, Exeter, Budleigh Salterton, Okehampton, Ottery St Mary, Tiverton and Topsham. Get in touch today by emailing b.stone@hospiscare.co.uk.
We are also looking for fundraising volunteers in Okehampton. Please email s.collins@hospiscare.co.uk to find out more.
