Weldmar’s Sherborne charity shop celebrates 25 years of serving the local community
9th August 2022
Weldmar Hospicecare’s charity shop on Cheap Street in Sherborne has celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Since first opening in 1997, three years after the launch of the charity, the shop has taken hundreds of thousands of donated items and provided a sustainable and affordable shopping option in the town – with all profits going to support the specialist end of life care that is provided by Weldmar to the local community.
The anniversary was marked with a cake, and a gathering of past and present volunteers. One of those volunteers, Monica Atkinson, has been helping out in the shop for 23 years, and says she enjoys it as much as she did when she first started. “I like meeting new people, and all the things that we sell, and we’re doing a good job for Weldmar. I always said I would like to volunteer when I retired, and a friend of mine was helping here when I started.”
Monica says much has changed in her time at the shop: “It’s changed quite a lot, with the electronic till and credit card card machines and things like that, but what has made the most difference and been most profitable is the Gift Aid that we do – when someone donates something we get an extra 25%.”
New skills
As a result of her volunteering, Monica has also learnt new skills. “I do all the jewellery here, and we’ve had some really lovely things come in over the years here that have sold for a lot of money. I even did courses in jewellery to familiarise myself with what to look out for. If something turns out to be quite valuable, we will contact the person who donated it if we can, to see if they realised how much it was worth before we sell it!”
Emma Randall (pictured) is Weldmar Community Nurse for Sherborne, based at the Yeatman Hospital, and patients wanting to stay at home in their final weeks and days have the Weldmar at Home service available in the area.
Regional Manager Bev Peck is really proud of the team at the charity shop. “As well as great staff, we’ve got volunteers who have been here between one and twenty three years, who are the beating heart of the shop. We’ve seen takings from the shop go up and up over the years, and the people of Sherborne have supported this shop so well over the years.”
Could you lead the team at our Sherborne charity shop?
We are looking for a great manager to lead the team at our popular charity shop in Sherborne. No two days are the same in our shops, so you’ll need to be friendly and confident. As well as willing to take a hands on approach in everything from outstanding customer service though to ensuring the shop floor is well presented and welcoming.
Although the shop is part of a well-established chain of Weldmar retail outlets across Dorset, our Shop Managers have the responsibility for all aspects of the day to day operational running of the site.
