People Volunteer for Paul Sartori Hospice at Home for many reasons. It can be to get out and about and make new friends to alleviate loneliness, increase confidence, learn new skills and get work experience for your CV, improve mental and physical health and help a worthy cause like ours. This page is dedicated to hearing about our volunteers’ stories and what they get out of volunteering for us!
Pembroke Dock store Volunteers, Jayne Skuse and Martin Hare
Jayne Skuse and Martin Hare are 2 of our amazing volunteers at Pembroke Dock.
Jayne has been volunteering for us at Pembroke and then the Pembroke Dock store for over 2 years. She was volunteering for the Credit Union and wanted to find a new volunteering opportunity so popped to PAVS to find out what was available and luckily chose us. Jayne said “I knew about the fantastic work of Paul Sartori’s hospice service and wanted to help, plus it was a local charity, so I applied”. Jayne carries out 2-3 days of volunteering for us and is now only based in Pembroke Dock. Adding “the most enjoyable part is the challenge to continuously improve the store and increase sales knowing it is going to help many local people who need it. I really love the feeling of making a difference especially when someone comes in and tells me how they have been helped by our service”. Jayne’s 15 year old grandson, Josh has also now started helping out. He has Autism and has really improved his communication and customer services skills even learning to use the till. He is counting his volunteering for his Duke of Edinburgh and is aiming to do his 50, 100 and 200 hour Millennium Volunteers certificates.
Martin came to see Caroline, Paul Sartori’s Volunteering Coordinator at a Job Centre fair last year and decided to come on-board as a volunteer there and then a friend of Martin’s unfortunately died in hospital and was unable to come home so he wanted to give something to Paul Sartori as he felt it was such a valuable service. He also wanted to improve his retail skills to add to his CV as he was looking for employment. Since becoming a volunteer with us, Martin has nearly achieved his 200 hour 25+V certificate and is looking forward to being presented with that very soon. Following a car accident which left him with health issues, Martin has found that volunteering has given him back his confidence. He said “I feel useful again and have learned so much in the shop like using the till and displaying clothes and items. I never miss a shift as we are a very small but tight team at Pembroke Dock” adding “I will drop everything to come in at the last moment to help out as we are all such good friends and want to support one another”.
Thank you so much to both Jayne and Martin for being such dedicated volunteers within our Pembroke Dock store. Both of them wanted to mention Terry Gadd who very sadly passed away recently and is very much missed by everyone in Pembroke Dock.
Nostalgia, Fishguard Volunteer Cynthia Raddon
Our volunteer Cynthia Raddon has been volunteering at the Paul Sartori Nostalgia store in Fishguard for over 6 years. Her background in her working life was in retail before she gave up work to care for her mother. After retirement, Cynthia spent 7 years caring for her husband who then sadly passed away. For 6 months Cynthia felt lonely and decided she needed to do something to occupy her time. She popped into our Nostalgia store in Fishguard to ask about volunteering and very soon became a valuable member of the team where she has been ever since. Cynthia said “My life was very busy when I was caring for my husband and when he passed away, my life was turned upside down and it left a huge void. Even though I was an active member of Hermon Chapel and had a lot of support from my friends, I felt I needed to fill my time and do something worthwhile”. She added “My life is really busy now between volunteering for Paul Sartori 2-3 times a week, going to my embroidery class every Tuesday and regularly visiting family in Cardigan and Bristol. I’ve made so many new friends throughout the 6 years volunteering at Paul Sartori and feel proud to be able to help raise funds for the hospice service Paul Sartori provides in Pembrokeshire”.
Thank you so much Cynthia from all of the Paul Sartori team for everything you do for the charity!
Letterston Store Volunteer Supervisor John Grieg
John (pictured above and bottom right with volunteers Margaret and Anne) has been volunteering for Paul Sartori at our Letterston store for 5 years after popping in one day and asking volunteer Linda Mcnabb if he could give a hand. Very quickly he took over the management of the store and its volunteers saying “I am a bossy boots plus no one else wanted to do it so I stepped into the breach”. For over 20 years, John’s background was working for the Post Office in London as an international Telegraphist then in the banking sector in London as a Telex Operator. Being born in Narberth and having 2 sisters locally, John decided to move back to Pembrokeshire with his partner Iain in December 2012 where they settled in Letterston. Very quickly they settled into the community and by March 2013 was volunteering for Paul Sartori at our Letterston store. John said “Our store is like a confession box, everyone chats about life’s trials and tribulations. We are all very good friends but really more like a family. We have volunteer meetings at my home which are social get-togethers having dinner and a glass of wine altogether”. John manages the store and has created a motivated and loyal volunteer team, even keeping everything ticking along smoothly from hospital and at home when he had Cancer. The store always looks immaculate and the window displays are always amazing and welcoming in addition to all the paperwork being up to date, and all the Paul Sartori processes and policies being adhered to efficiently and effectively. The Paul Sartori Letterston store is the only one managed solely by volunteers. Thank you John for being an exceptional, dedicated and kind volunteer to Paul Sartori – we appreciate everything that you do!
Narberth Volunteer Darren Richards
Darren Richards has been volunteering at our Narberth store since last May after just popping in one day when passing and offering his help. He started doing a few hours 1 day a week but in a short time expanded his volunteering to 3 days, very quickly becoming a valued member of the team. Even though Darren has Cerebral Palsy, he is very independent and travels from home in Whitland to Narberth on the bus. In the past, his employment background has been in retail working for Tesco and he recently had an interview for a part time job at M&S in Carmarthen with the support of Remploy. He mentioned that if he is successful in gaining employment at M&S, he will still carry on volunteering for us at the store in Narberth in his spare time even though he has a busy life. Darren has an active social life enjoying nights out in Haverfordwest, Tenby and Swansea, attends the gym regularly and enjoys watching sport on TV like rugby and football being an avid Manchester United fan. Darren said “I really enjoy volunteering with Volunteer Supervisor Ruth (pictured with Darren below right) and the team in Narberth, it has built my confidence no end and I’ve learned new skills like displaying merchandise and organising the shop floor. I’ve met so many new people through the shop and have made some lovely friends too”. Adding “I always do my best in everything I do at the shop in Narberth and really feel part of a family here. Ruth always makes me laugh and gives me encouragement plus she even persuaded me to have my picture taken (under duress) for this article”. Thank you Darren for being an amazing volunteer from all at Paul Sartori.
Paul Sartori House Reception Volunteer Rachel Warlow
Rachel started volunteering for Paul Sartori in November 2017 as an admin volunteer, helping out in reception answering the phone, dealing with people face to face and undertaking admin tasks needed. Rachel’s background is in office admin and is currently volunteering to help brush up her skills as she has been out of the job market for a while and is seeking paid work. Rachel volunteers 3-4 afternoons each week but this is flexible. Rachel said “I’m enjoying volunteering as I like to keep busy and have a regular routine. It is my intention to attain paid employment and volunteering is helping me keep my skills up to speed. I enjoy volunteering at Paul Sartori, everyone is friendly and approachable and the work that I carry out within Paul Sartori for the hospice at home service is worthwhile and rewarding”. Thank you for everything you do for us Rachel.
You can volunteer for us, click here for more details