“I always said I wanted to volunteer in a charity shop.”

It’s Hospice Care Week from 7-13 October – a chance to shine a spotlight on hospices and recognise the difference they make to families facing death or loss.

UK hospices are currently facing huge financial pressures and they now get more funding from selling second-hand goods in their shops than they do from the government. So, the theme for this year’s Hospice Care Week is all about hospice retail and we’re celebrating our 13 charity shops and the expert team that keep them going.

Val O’Donnell worked on our hospice wards for eight years. Since retiring Val has been volunteering in our St Catherine’s charity shop in Crawley. Here she tells us about these two sides of our special charity and why they’re so important. 

“I was living on the Isle of Wight, where I had been for about 10 years, but I wanted to come back to the mainland because I really missed my family. I was getting more and more grandchildren and I wanted to be able to see them. I had worked in nursing homes my whole career, so I got a job at a home in Crawley. I didn’t really enjoy it, but it was a job, and I needed the money.  

“My daughter was already working at the hospice, and she said, ‘Why don’t you try it?’.  

“I used to live on Malthouse Road when the kids were younger, and I would pass the hospice every day taking them to school. I always thought, ‘I could never work there, it must be so sad’ but my daughter said, ‘It’s not like that Mum’. So, I thought, ‘Oh alright, I’ll give it a go!’. I went for an interview and quickly realised it’s not depressing like I first thought.  

“I started as a Staff Nurse on the ward before becoming a Senior Staff Nurse. Then the role of Admissions and Discharge Coordinator came up and I thought, “I could do that”, so I did!  

“My nursing background really helped me in the Admissions and Discharge Co-ordinator role because I could use my clinical knowledge to assess whether a patient was ready to go home, and I was able to share my knowledge with the wider team. 

“When I told people I worked at the hospice, they used to say “I’m not going in there. If you go in, you’ll never come out”. And I used to say, ‘I’m the Discharge Coordinator, it’s a full-time job, let me tell you, people do leave’ So I was helping to educate others too. 

“I used to love it when someone was able to go home after I had helped to organise a care package for them and they had all the equipment they needed. It felt like such a success for the whole family. It was always at that moment that I thought “Yes!”, because it meant someone else could come into the hospice.  

“I worked at the hospice for eight years in total. The team kept me there for all those years – they were great.  

“We used to have what we’d call ‘hospice humour’ and you’d need that, especially if you’d had a rubbish week.  

“Situations affect people differently. If someone was really struggling with something, and it hadn’t affected me as much, I could support that person. A lot of people find it hard when a young person dies, but it wasn’t always that. If there was someone who was my age and their children were around them, I used to think, ‘Oh gosh, what if that was me?’.  

“I also found it difficult caring for someone I knew. Being a Crawley person, and with the hospice being in Crawley, sometimes people would come in who I’d known for a long time.  

“Towards the end of my time at the hospice I was made homeless. The only place I could find to live was the Almshouses. Part of the requirement to live there is that you’re retired. My nursing revalidation was coming up and I’d already decided I didn’t want to work back on the ward, so I decided to retire. I was glad to. 

“I always said that when I retired I wanted to volunteer in a charity shop – I love charity shops!

“When you first retire you’ve got to find your feet a bit. My days used to be filled with working and I didn’t really have any hobbies. I like gardening, and I have a big family which keeps me busy, but I was used to fitting that in around my job. For the first two or three weeks it was just like being on annual leave, so it was lovely! I retired in May and gave myself the summer off to sort my head out. I then decided to start volunteering in the St Catherine’s shop in Crawley as I only live a five-minute walk away. It seemed like the obvious place after having worked at the hospice.  

“I started doing Thursday mornings, but now I do Tuesday mornings as well.  

“Without volunteers the shops couldn’t run. We each do our own tasks but get on really well as a team. We’re really well looked after here. 

“I do pretty much everything other than the till. I’m a busy person and I don’t want to just sit there – I’d sooner be active. I do pricing, tagging, hanging, ragging, sorting out. I enjoy making sure everything looks nice and tidy. I am a bit OCD in that respect.  

“If I get a moment, I’ll go around and reorganise the shelves on the shop floor and return things that have been put back in the wrong place.  

“I never thought I’d be able to do the window displays because I don’t have a creative bone in my body, but then I position a few things and when I look at it from the front, it doesn’t look too bad! I did window displays for Mother’s Day, St George’s Day, and one for the Euros too. I notice that if you move items around then they’ll suddenly go. They can be on a shelf for ages, but if you move it to the front of the shop or pop it into the window then people will suddenly buy it. 

“People recognise we’re a good cause and want to support us. As the hospice is in Crawley, I think this shop is particularly important.  

“We get a lot of donations, and some people come in with donations and want to talk about their loved ones. They say, ‘I’ve got these things to donate. They were my mum’s and she’s died.’ Sometimes they want to stay and have a chat. My previous role at the hospice helps me to have these conversations. People are donating precious things, and we don’t know how long ago their loved one died, so I always give them time and empathy. 

“The funds that our shops raise are hugely important.  

“We don’t get enough from the NHS – we never did. I used to see that when I was trying to get funding for respite care in my previous role.  

“You never know when you’re going to need the service – if not for you then for a family member. The hospice is so caring of the entire family – they receive treatment that they would never get in a hospital. The money to fund that care has to come from somewhere.” 

If you’d like to join our wonderful team of volunteers and help raise vital funds so we can continue caring for local families who needs us, please email volunteering@stch.org.uk or call 01293 447351 to speak with out Volunteering team, or view our current vacancies.