The rewards of volunteering for Martin House

Like most charities, volunteering plays an important role at Martin House, and we are so grateful to the dedicated and special group of people who give up their time to support us.

We have around 300 regular volunteers, and about the same number again of volunteers who support us on a more ad hoc basis – for example helping us at our special events like Glitter Ball, Ladies Lunch or Dragon Boat Race.

The vast majority of our regular volunteers are based in our shops, and they are essential in helping to keep them open and running. This is so important, because our chain of shops, e-commerce team and our furniture showroom raise a significant amount of money for the hospice – around £2 million in the last 12 months alone – and we really couldn’t do that without our amazing volunteers.

What does volunteering look like at Martin House?

Retail volunteers do all kinds of tasks, from sorting donations, serving customers, delivering and collecting furniture and other donations, listing items for sale on our online platforms, really every aspect of our retail operation. They play a vital part in the success of our shops, which ultimately benefits the families we support.

But there are so many more ways you can volunteer to support our work. As we near the completion of THE BUILD, our major transformation project to modernise and extend the hospice, we will have many more opportunities for volunteers at Martin House.
For example, we have extensive gardens which need maintenance so our families can enjoy time outdoors when they stay at the hospice, so volunteers can help us keep the grounds looking beautiful.

Our chefs provide hundreds of meals to families staying at Martin House, so kitchen volunteers can help us to prepare food and baking cakes and treats for them to enjoy.

There will also be opportunities with our new wellbeing suite, as we’ll be able to offer more complementary therapies, and our family support team will be looking for volunteers to assist with some of their activities.

Other ways to volunteer for charity

But volunteering isn’t just about giving your time on a regular basis – we know that people’s lives are busy – so there are all kinds of other ways to help. Many of our corporate partners will hold volunteering days, where a team will come and support us – often they give a helping hand at our warehouse, or spend a day working in our gardens.

There’s also the opportunity for more short-term volunteering – students on summer break from university may want to use that time to support a charity and get some work experience, or you may have an opportunity for some one-off volunteering to fit around your schedule.

And of course, as a charity, we are led by volunteers. Our board of trustees all give their time free, and come from a range of professional and healthcare backgrounds to bring their expertise in their role of overseeing how we are run as an organisation.

The benefits of volunteering

When you volunteer with Martin House, in whatever capacity, you are ultimately helping us provide vital care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions, whether that’s by helping to raise money, or supporting staff to help us enhance our service to families.

But volunteering also brings more personal rewards, whether that’s the social side of getting out and making new friends, learning a new skill. Many of our volunteers stay with us for years, and it becomes an important part of their lives.

You can find out more about volunteer roles currently available on our website at www.martinhouse.org.uk/volunteer or you can email volunteering@martinhouse.org.uk if you would like to find out more.

Antoinette Bell
Director of people and resources