Leamington branch of Save the Children makes appeal for volunteers

The town branch of Save the Children, in Regent Street, has issued an urgent appeal for more volunteers as the national charity prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Adrian Hebbert, one of the charity’s regional retail managers, who oversees the Leamington shop as well as 13 others across the country, said: “We really want more people to come along and become part of the Save the Children community in Leamington.

“The volunteers we have are wonderful but at the moment we simply don’t have enough of them.”

Shifts are split up into mornings and afternoons and last for approximately three-and-a-half to four hours each.

At present, the shop is closed for three shifts a week as there are not enough volunteers to cover them.

This is costing the charity hundreds of pounds every week in lost sales.

Adrian said there are many roles people might be interested in getting involved with.

“It’s not just people working on the tills and sorting through donations we need. We are also looking for people who might like to focus on finance, administration, health and safety, or those with a flair for social media,” he said.

“We would love to have a more active online presence but simply don’t have enough people to help us with this.

“We welcome volunteers from all walks of life, whether they be retired, unemployed or work part time, but some of the experience we could offer would be ideal for students who could use it to enhance their learning, not to mention their CVs.

“There is a diverse range of people volunteering here who bring different skills with them and it makes for a great community atmosphere.

“It can be huge amounts of fun, and I really want people to get that from it.”

People who would like to volunteer can apply online at savethechildren.org.uk/volunteer.

They will be asked to provide references and will then be invited to a half-hour meeting at the shop to find out more.