My dad died of prostate cancer in 2007. Up until then I’d been fortunate in that my family had never been faced with the pain that cancer brings. Obviously to the sufferer themselves but also to the people around them. When I retired from work at the end of 2020 I was finally in a position to try and make a small difference to people who find themselves in a similar position by becoming a volunteer at Cancer Research.

The application process has changed slightly since I joined as with most things nowadays it’s an on line form (simple enough) with two references required. Providing all is well with those parts you will be invited in for a taster session with the manager of a local branch who will give you an overview of the tasks you might be doing on a regular basis.

In reality there are two distinct areas to the work. The first is in the shop itself. Here as well as obviously serving customers, you will be ensuring the shop is kept tidy and being the first point of contact for anyone wishing to drop off donations. Away from the shop you would effectively be in a back office role. Sorting through donations, steaming and hanging clothes and ensuring other items are in a fit state to go on sale.

The upsides to volunteering massively outweigh the negatives. I believe the positives are well documented already in that you will learn new skills, meet new people and have a genuine feeling of achievement that you are helping others.

There are downsides though. If you are used to being in a creative environment much of the work is repetitive so can becoming boring. There is a lot of heavy lifting involved. Perhaps worst of all not all customers are friendly. Although in a small minority some are down right rude.

Overall though if it’s something you have the time and inclination to do it’s definitely a worthwhile venture. As charity shops all operate to very similar processes and use the same software at the tills you can even volunteer at different causes you’re passionate about as your experience grows.