I’ve been volunteering for Emmaus Preston for the last ten years. I liked to think when I retired at 73, that I wanted to be doing something useful in the community.
Becoming a volunteer comes off the back of looking after mentally ill people for 35 years and people with learning difficulties, so it’s normal for me to want to be involved in the community.
I found Emmaus Preston on my own initiative. I did some enquiries and went and had a word with the person responsible for volunteers at the time, Karen, and that started it up.
I started working on the vans, driving, and getting the food for the community home, which meant going to the wholesalers. I also volunteered at the Megastore, where we sorted clothing donations upstairs.
An eye for detail
You have to have a good instinct for quality. If there’s a mark on anything, it has to go into the rag bag. If it’s saleable, you get it on the hangers and size it up. It gets steamed, priced and put on the rails for the people supported by Emmaus, our companions, to put downstairs in the shop.
When Caroline and I came in to do this work, Caroline was really good at organising things. She set everything up. I made the wooden boxes for the little size numbers that go on the hangers. People in the community started keeping things tidier in bags.
Our volunteer roles look pretty simple, but you have to put everything on the right size hangers that are all the right colour. It’s all about the detail. If the clothes were on hangers of different shapes and sizes and on different colours, it wouldn’t look right. Here everything is organised and put on rails ready for the companions to put out.
My weekly routine
I volunteer each week for Emmaus Preston and I also volunteer for the local hospice for two days each week. I run 5 and a half miles three times a week. It’s good to keep fit. You’ve not got time to let things lapse.
I have worked for seven days a week all of my life, from being a kid. I’ve worked the markets and all sorts of things. I owned care homes that I built myself. My care homes integrated people into the community, like Emmaus Preston, which is why I volunteer here. I have the same values and ideas of looking after people and caring for people.
All I wanted to do was something useful that would benefit a charity. To me, Emmaus is the best idea, the fact it accommodates people, gives a small wage and gives a work ethic, that’s the difference between this charity and other charities.
Why Emmaus
What makes Emmaus special is that you are able to be at the level where the companions are and help these people feel more comfortable. That’s why we all wear a uniform. We are all part of Emmaus. That’s important. I like to feel like I identify with the companions, and the companions who are brought into the Emmaus community come here treated with respect. I get a lot of pleasure from helping them.
Community, sums Emmaus up really. Emmaus Preston being shortlisted for a community award may encourage other people to get involved in volunteering work. If it does, I’d say go and do it with a full heart. We’ll help with training. Volunteers all get a free butty too (but I like to fetch my own).
What’s the secret of long and happy volunteering? Love for my fellow person. It’s that simple.
To find out more about volunteering in support of our homelessness charity, you can see all the roles and opportunities on Emmaus Preston’s volunteer page here and an online application form to apply,