I was a nurse for 36 years. When I retired, I was looking after my mum who had dementia. Then she passed away and I had a bit of free time, so I thought I’d like to do some voluntary work one day a week to meet new people.
I saw an advert on Facebook about a recruitment day for volunteers for Emmaus Bolton. I came to the recruitment day, and I was shown around and thought it was a really good set up.
I didn’t realise Emmaus Bolton had accommodation here for homeless people when I first came, so that was a surprise, and discovering that companions help here too. So I applied and now I am here as a volunteer.
I had been to Emmaus Bolton before, and we have donated things and bought things before. My sister-in-law has bought quite a bit of furniture from here to support the charity. I think it is a really good charity.
Sorting weird and wonderful items
I work in the sorting room with another volunteer one day a week, and basically I sort through the bric-a-brac that people bring. The charity gets lots of weird and wonderful things at times.
We get lots of different things. We get new items as well. It’s amazing what people will give away. Some have never been used and sometimes you can get expensive things.
So we’re always on the go sorting the donations that come in. Mainly it’s bric-a-brac (someone else sorts the clothes), and we get children’s toys and games, which we take to Emmaus Bolton’s toy shop. We also get lots of books which are sorted by volunteers, who also stock up the Scrap Store. There are volunteers in each of the different areas of Emmaus Bolton.
Flexible volunteering options
The best day for me to volunteer is when my husband is working. He’s flexi-retired and I wanted to do one of the days he was working because we’ve just bought a motorhome that we want to use.
In terms of flexibility, Emmaus Bolton asked me what days I wanted to do when I started. If I’m busy on a day doing something, Emmaus wouldn’t mind me coming in on another day of the week if that suited me, but I tend to do the same day every week.
Everyone at Emmaus has been so nice and welcoming. Volunteering is a social thing as well; you are meeting new people. You see the same people coming in and buying things and you get chatting to them as well. I’ve made a good friend in another one of the volunteers who does this on the same day as me.
I was used to socialising with my job and meeting people so it’s nice I can do this and meet the public as well.
The companions participate really well in community life. They are helping people all the time. Emmaus does need donations. Everybody that donates is helping Emmaus house homeless people and give them an opportunity and chance to better their lives.
If you would like to volunteer in support of Emmaus Bolton, you can take a look at the current volunteering opportunities on our volunteers page here.