Gill has volunteered at Emmaus Village Carlton for 14 years, starting off working in the office and moving to the main donation sorting area and then to the Bric-a-Brac shop, and most recently the eBay department. She lives in a village near Northampton with her husband Richard, who also volunteers for Emmaus Village Carlton, in the electrics department.
I’ve been a volunteer for 14 years, around one year less than my husband Richard, but we’re not the longest serving volunteers at Emmaus Village Carlton; volunteer David has worked here for well over 20 years and his wife Marjorie has also worked here around the same time.
Friends’ suggestion
Some friends of ours suggested to my husband that he might like to work here as they’d heard the charity was looking for volunteers to work in the electrics department, so he went along. It was probably about a year later that I decided to go along and help as well.
I work mainly in the eBay department, but I do cover the tills in the shops as well. I started off in the office but that was what I used to do in my working life and I didn’t really want to do that anymore. I did Under One Roof – the main sorting area. I then spent quite a few years in the Bric-a-Brac shop of the Bistro area, getting stuff for the shop from Under One Roof and working on the tills.
When Covid came along we didn’t go in for quite some time and then when we went back, they said we weren’t going to be working on the tills due to the safety measures. I used to work in the Bric-a-Brac shop with Marjorie, who then moved on to the Christmas area, and I went and did eBay which was reasonably new then.
Working on eBay
I like the variety of stuff we do and I like the social side of it, seeing the other volunteers. I don’t see the companions as much as I used to when I worked in Bric-a-Brac, but I still see them when I cover their lunch breaks, so that’s always nice.
We’ve sold some great items on eBay recently – I just sent off a couple of Meissen antique porcelain parrots, one of which sold for £126 and the other for £155.
My job entails mainly wrapping the items for postage, but I do research as well and I also take photos, so it’s quite a varied role. Our items go all over the world – the wedding dresses are quite popular in Asian countries such as Malaysia.
I work with Jude and Anna in eBay – Anna started the eBay department off and was there when I joined.
Volunteering Highlights
I got the Queens Award for Volunteering, the whole of Emmaus Village Carlton did, in 2017, so that was a lovely memory. I got to shake hands with our current Queen – although she wasn’t Queen Camilla then but The Duchess of Cornwall. The award was for Emmaus Village Carlton as a whole and we all got badges. David and Marjorie went to Buckingham Palace.
My husband Richard and I also went to a garden party last year held by the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire to represent Emmaus. It’s a really lovely house and was a nice garden party, so another highlight for us.
It’s lovely working for such a great charity – I do think it’s there but for the grace of God. It’s so easy to get into a downward spiral and I think Emmaus does really well and gives amazing opportunities to homeless people.