Volunteers at the Northwich BHF shop celebrate an impressive milestone reaching 250 years of collective service between them. Describing themselves as being, “like family”, the 15 dedicated volunteers have been working at the shop from one month up to an incredible 31 years. The manager, David Nutton, joined the team in 1995 and has worked alongside them for almost three decades.
David says, “We could not run our shop without our team of volunteers. They’re not just our volunteers, they’re part of the family. We now have 32 years of our lovely shop being open, serving the community and more importantly raising much valued funds for lifesaving heart research.”
The shop opened in 1992 – back when Whitney Houston topped the charts with I Will Always Love You, and John Major was the Prime Minister of the UK.
In the years since, the team of volunteers have seen many changes in shopping habits and technology. Not only from the shop floor, online platforms like eBay and Depop are now used to reach customers. Volunteer Helen Donovan, who has a visual impairment, started volunteering in the shop once her children were grown up, to meet new people after being a stay-at-home mum.
Helen says, “My visual impairment has made finding paid work difficult at times, so I thought I’d try out volunteering. I help sort donations in the stock room, but there are so many roles you can try out, whether it’s chatting with customers or helping on the shop floor. As I have a business qualification, I’ve loved understanding how the shop runs and how merchandising helps. I get such a buzz out of it, and I’ve now been here for over ten years. If you’re looking to try something new and build connections in your community, I’d recommend volunteering!”
Manager David also says, “I’ve seen so many changes since I joined the BHF in the nineties, but it’s been wonderful to see the same familiar faces in the shop each day. I’ve said it many times, but our shop just couldn’t function without the support of our loyal team and volunteers. Whether you want to try out volunteering for a few days or even decades, we would love to hear from anyone who wants to join the Northwich BHF family.”
A big thank you to the Northwich team for their many dedicated years to the BHF.
If you’d like to be part of the BHF family, find out more about retail volunteering opportunities here.