Charity shop workers credit role with helping to manage anxiety and retirement boredom
Valerie Wilson and Irene from the St Ann's Heald Green shop credit their roles with helping them throughout the years
Valerie Wilson and Jill Fitzgerald at the St Ann's Heald Green charity shop
A volunteer at one of St Ann’s Hospice’s charity shops has credited her role with helping her manage her anxiety disorder.
Irene volunteers once a week at the Hospice’s charity shop in Heald Green and first began her volunteering journey almost six years ago when her GP told her gaining a wider circle of friends could help her manage her anxiety better.
The St Ann’s volunteer said that developing lasting relationships with her fellow volunteers has been life-changing.
It’s like your colleagues are your counsellor sometimes. We exchange problems, and discuss things you wouldn’t necessarily want people in your community knowing. We all have our problems and a lot of us have similar problems. Irene, St Ann's Charity Shop Volunteer
Valerie Wilson, also a volunteer at the Heald Green charity shop began volunteering a little after her retirement.
The charity shop volunteer worked from when she left school all the way up to her retirement in 2012. She struggled with adjusting to her new life and found it quite boring after a while.
She decided to volunteer her time at the Heald Green shop as a way of doing something with her time.
“We are very proud of St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green and this is a great way of giving back to the community,” Valerie said.