Volunteering has become more and more popular over recent years, with 34% of 16–24-year-olds in the UK having volunteered in some capacity. Around 17% of this youth volunteering is done in charity shops, although that is not enough to fill the industry’s 95000 volunteering roles, to keep the UKs Charity sector’s estimated £11.3 billion annual earnings rolling in.

 

A couple of months ago, I started volunteering at my local Oxfam charity shop in Wimbledon and I haven’t looked back.  For two hours every Saturday, I sort clothes, steam clothes, tag clothes and dress manikins; as a budding fashionista, I am in heaven. However, whether you are into clothes or not, there are a myriad of jobs available to do whilst volunteering; from working on the shop floor to sorting books and knick-knacks to uploading onto the online shop. Not to mention, whatever task I am doing from the mundane to more exciting, there is always a friendly atmosphere. Unlike other workplace environments, I feel as if everyone wants to be working at the Wimbledon Oxfam charity shop. 

 

This is no surprise considering the incredible effects of the charity we are all contributing to, whether that be by giving up a mere couple of hours on a Saturday.  In one week alone, the Wimbledon Oxfam can generate an income and therefore profit of £5000 going into a wider annual, nation-wide Oxfam earning of nearly £500 million all going to help those who need it most across the globe. 

 

As a young volunteer, not only do I feel as if I am learning so much and enjoying having a first so-called “job”, but I also feel as if I am a part of a wider community and cause doing good. Rob, the manager of the Wimbledon Oxfam shop I volunteer at, said, “We couldn’t do it without the young volunteers, nor without the adult ones or the donations; it is a great big community, and we all need each other in order to do as much good as we can.”

 

If you have been pondering whether to volunteer at your local charity shop for a while or you have just been inspired by this article, I urge you to go for it. Not only will it hugely help you gain life experience and make you feel good knowing you are working towards a greater cause, but you are helping more people than you can comprehend, who can’t help themselves. To volunteer, all you need to do is fill in an online form on the website of the charity you are looking to volunteer at or visit and inquire at your local charity shop and then you too can say you are volunteering to make the world a better place and having a great time doing it.