TWO dedicated volunteers will reopen a charity shop in Worcester city centre on Saturday (July 4).
St Richard’s Hospice’s St Swithin’s Street shop was closed for essential maintenance and has also been redecorated inside and outside.
Dorothy Keeling and Gordon Geikie will perform the ribbon cutting ceremony. Dorothy has been volunteering for St Richard’s since January 2007 and has been at the St Swithin’s shop since it opened in 2015. Gordon is the oldest volunteer at the shop at 87 years-old and has volunteered in the bookshop for eight years.
Dorothy said: “I started volunteering when I retired as a schoolteacher. I’m a keen reader and I knew I wanted to volunteer somewhere with books.
“Originally, I volunteered at the St Richard’s bookshop in Reindeer Court and then we moved to St Swithin’s Street.
“I enjoy chatting to the customers and I like the feeling of helping someone find a book they’ve been looking for. We have regulars who come in and buy books and once they’ve read them, they donate them back to the shop again.
“I’m very happy volunteering at St Swithin’s and I enjoy my friendships with the other book volunteers I’ve met over the years.”
Gordon added: “While training as a social worker in the 1960s, I attended a lecture by Cicely Saunders, the founder of the hospice movement. I also managed care homes for 20 years, which brought me into contact with end-of-life care, so it seemed like a natural path to volunteer for St Richard’s.
“I thoroughly enjoy working at St Swithin’s; it’s always a joy. The staff make the volunteers feel like we’re part of the team.
“A lot of thought and work has gone into the new layout and decoration. The shop looks fabulous – it’s wonderful.
“I’ve always been a reader, and the shop has a good bookshop. I enjoy engaging with all the different characters we have visiting the bookshop.
“Charity shops have changed completely and people who say they wouldn’t go into one are missing out. They’re also such an important part of the recycling movement.”
The hospice has 20 shops across Worcestershire with the profits contributing towards the cost of providing free hospice care and support to patients, the people important to them, and bereaved people.
Visit www.strichards.org.uk/volunteering to find out more about volunteering.
