Jan's story

After working for 30 years in a fast-paced HR role in the corporate world, Jan decided her time had come to retire. She took six months off and then decided she needed to try something new and her thoughts turned to volunteering.

Jan has now been volunteering in one of the Hospice’s charity shops for just over a year.  Jan adds: “I have lost close family who died in a hospice, which made me realise how important quality of care at the end of life is. I now really value the importance of knowing when someone isn’t going to get any better, how you need to make that end of life care the best it can be.

“The hospice cause is so important to me and I wanted to support Thames Hospice.”

There are a myriad of volunteer roles to choose from but Jan particularly enjoys the customer service side. She adds: “I love working here not only because it’s local but because of the flexibility and being able to choose when I can come into the shop. I’ve never worked in retail but wanted to try something completely different that was enjoyable but at the same time meaningful.”

Jan uses the skills she has from her decades in HR; chatting with customers and relying on that attention to detail which is really useful in helping customers find what they are looking for.

Jan adds: “At the end of the day, volunteering makes me feel you can never do enough but when you go home, you realise you actually got loads done that day. It’s a great feeling. Each time I come into the shop, I find something new and meet a wealth of customers who make me feel proud of what we do.

“I would encourage everyone to volunteer, we have a lot of good fun.  I just love it.”