Back to Business: Appeal for volunteers to deal with donations as Oxfam reopens Inverness store
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OXFAM’S Inverness store has issued an urgent appeal for volunteers to help it deal with an anticipated deluge of donations as it prepares to reopen its doors from Monday.
The charity says that sales from the first day of trading following the reopening of its English and Welsh shops were up 77 per cent on 2019 figures – making it the most successful Monday ever saleswise for the organisation, outwith Christmas periods.
The Inverness shop team is now braced for a significant number of donations in the face of lockdown decluttering and people seeking to offload unwanted Christmas gifts.
However, the charity says it has a shortfall of hundreds of volunteers in Scotland, with some existing volunteers currently unable to return due to the fact they are shielding.
More volunteers are needed to help sort and sell the donations in order to raise as much money as possible for Oxfam’s vital work around the world.
Tom Richardson, Oxfam’s interim head of retail, said: “Money raised by the dedicated staff and volunteers in Oxfam’s Inverness shop helps fight poverty and injustice around the world; providing people with lifesaving essentials like clean water and soap as well as the hope of a better future.
“We know from the last lockdown that people will have taken the chance to have a good declutter and we’re anticipating a deluge of generous donations.
“As we prepare to get back to business in a Covid-safe way we’re encouraging people from all walks of life who want to live in a fairer, more sustainable world to consider giving one of the greatest gifts of all: their time.”
Volunteers are asked to give as little as a few hours a week of their time and can take up a range of vital roles, from serving customers to sorting donations and arranging window displays.
Each shop typically relies on a team of 30 dedicated volunteers and one or two staff, with more than 1500 volunteers required across the country.
As well as volunteers, Oxfam’s Inverness store is also appealing for good quality donations.
Mr Richardson said people in the city had always been generous.
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