WHEN Sheila Shelton first decided she wanted to join our volunteers, she simply wanted to do something good for a charity she admired.
What she didn’t realise is that she would be still be part of our Gleadless shop team a remarkable 20 years later.
“I I had volunteered before for lots of different organisations but I wanted to do something for St Luke’s because I know so many people that have had to go into the hospice and I wanted to give something back,” says Sheila, who lives in Gleadless.
“I don’t think I had ever been in a charity shop before I came here and I was amazed, absolutely amazed at what they had to do.”
Today Sheila volunteers two mornings every week as part of the shop’s sorting team, going through clothing donations, pricing them and getting them ready to go straight out onto the shop floor.
“Sometimes you wonder about the person who has sent in a donation and quite often you do realise when a donation has followed a bereavement, which makes you think” she says.
“I am so pleased that people think about us that way and a lot of people do if they have lost somebody – their immediate thought is St Luke’s because it is such a worthwhile charity.
“I love to price something up and take it out into the shop and I love it when a customer asks if they can take a look and then they buy it straight away.
“It might only be a small thing and it might only be a small price but it is always worth it.”
And after two decades of dedicated volunteering, Sheila now wants to encourage other people to follow her lead.
“If you have leisure time, volunteering can give you so much – you have no idea how good it is to give your time to such a worthwhile charity,” she says
“You make loads of friends, it’s so lovely to work with them and the charity are so pleased to have your support.
“After visiting the hospice I can understand why they need the support of their volunteers too.
“We have lost a few volunteers who have had to go to St Luke’s as patients and the care they have received is so phenomenal, it’s absolutely marvellous – and that’s what we are volunteering for.”
To find out more about becoming a retail volunteer email: volunteer or call 0114 2357548 or 0114 235 7639.