Our shops are highly successful and a vital source of income for Cornwall Hospice Care with our chain stretching from Bude in the north to Penzance in the far west of the county. Each shop is different, because the manager and volunteers know their local customers and what sells well in their area.
In addition to our community shops, we have ‘Homestyle’ furniture shops, clearance outlets and a ‘Retro CHiC’ shop in Penryn where our volunteer team upcycle furniture and creatively give new life to once loved items.
Volunteers also play a vital role in our warehouse in St Austell, which sorts and redistributes stock to our shops across Cornwall. The warehouse is also home to the eBay, online books and New Goods teams who are assisted by a small team of volunteers.
In total, around 750 volunteers help in our shops, warehouse and on our vans. We are always looking for enthusiastic and motivated volunteers to join us, with a passion for retail and an eye for a good buy. Click on the volunteer roles below to learn more.
Book Sorter
Are you a bookworm? Are you also computer literate and know your way around the Internet? If so, you could join our team selling books in our shops or online. The book sorter is a member of our income generation team at Holmbush, St Austell, sorting books and packing them ready to post once sold.
eBay Expert
As part of our vital fundraising effort we sell hundreds of donated goods on eBay. We are given some weird and wonderful items – and we need people who know how to get the best price for them. The eBay expert is part of income generation team based at Holmbush, St Austell. Researching an item’s value, photographing and listing items online and sending them off to buyers are all part of this fulfilling role.
Furniture Shop Assistant
Moving furniture, arranging displays or serving customers – these are just some of the tasks carried out by assistants in our furniture shops. The role could also involve carpentry and electrical work or the chance to restore donated items. Our assistants also help with deliveries from our warehouse and prepare and price goods for sale.
New Goods Volunteer
Our hospice shops don’t sell only “pre-used” items – you can always find a variety of new goods, including jewellery and greetings cards, there. But we need help preparing this stock for sale. Based in Holmbush, St Austell, the new goods volunteer helps check and de-brand incoming stock, prices items for sale and packs it up for delivery to our shops.
Shop Assistant
We have more than two dozen shops selling new and donated goods and they need the help of keen and friendly volunteers to run efficiently. Duties include serving customers and helping on the till, sorting donated goods, pricing and cleaning incoming items and arranging stock on the shop floor. If you can offer “service with a smile” out front or work away in the back room, then we’d love to hear from you.
Van Driver’s Assistant
Our shops and furniture outlets receive regular supplies of stock from the warehouse in St Austell, but we need help to get them there. Based at our warehouse or furniture shops in St Austell, Penryn and Wadebridge, our driver’s assistants help collect items from locations throughout Cornwall and also assist with deliveries to the shops and other sites. If you can lift heavy items then you can accompany our drivers to help them load and offload their vans – and see something of our lovely county at the same time!
Warehouse Stock Sorter
People are very generous and we get lots of donated goods, which have to be sorted and distributed. Our stock sorters work at our warehouse in Holmbush, St Austell, handling incoming items and preparing them for delivery to our shops. The role entails helping drivers load and unload stock and assessing donated goods for either redistribution or recycling.
