Volunteer or Scrounger?

When I worked as a relief temporary PA to a lady with dementia her adult daughter lived in the flat above. The daughter was a volunteer at a charity shop. At least twice a week she washed a huge bundle of clothes and was always taking photos on a manikin in the conservatory. She was a very successful seller on EB as I found out her user name on parcels I dropped at the post office for her. Disgusting making money from donations and not giving to the charity. I expect quite a few others do this too.

I agree with Barbadosbelle's friend. As the most junior volunteer there, I wouldn't have felt comfortable discounting things but I would certainly have fetched the paid manager who would certainly have exercised her discretion in those circumstances.

In a slightly different vein, I volunteered for a branch of a national animal charity for 25 years. One of our perks was being able to order and pay for our own pet food at cost price. It was all done on a trust basis with volunteers popping a cheque in the cash box when they collected their food. Everyone, with one exception, was honest. I know this to be the case because I did the banking and ran a cursory eye over what people had bought and paid for. The one exception was the volunteer manager of the rescue centre who thought it was OK not to pay for her pet food. I never had the nerve to challenge her nor did I ever tell anyone else what she was up to. I left in 2009 and to this day I bitterly regret not pulling her up on it. She also thought it OK to help herself to donated goods that were brought in for fundraising events.

No vitriol or offensive comments intended. I’m a heart on sleeve person who should be more aware of the power of the written word. So apologies as necessary.
But my thoughts remain unchanged. Let anyone have what I no longer need, and I will continue with my voluntary work and thank goodness it doesn’t involve making money.

I know some people who openly brag about knocking charity shops down in price - just dreadful as none of us are hard up!

I know a chap in Cambridge who works 2 days a week in a charity shop ( he has ME supposedly and is on benefits) and he openly brags about sorting out the best items for himself and selling them on eBay. He says he makes a "tidy living" out of this so-called volunteering. It makes my blood boil!

Sorry for the dreadful grammar and sentence structure in my post. I am not as good at multi-tasking as I used to be.

oodles

dogsmother

Doodledog, I actually do agree on a fair price properly set, but after that so what if Gladys has 20 of the coats? Sorry but I really couldn’t get in a tizz about something I had discarded.

Agreed so what if Gladys has 20 coats. Would anyone police Edna a non volunteer who actually has 30 coats who comes in and buys a 31st. Still same outcome, a coat not available to someone who might need it more.
I don't buy the assumption that every good quality donation will be bought by volunteers. Garments or footwear have to be your size, no point in getting the most expensive biggest brand items if they don't fit. I see things in charity shops that are big brand items, that were very expensive to buy and are hardly used, but I don't need one, think the expensive ornament is ugly and tacky, the high beans cosmetics are no good for my skin colour, that sort of thing.
I have seen people in charity shops though, not volunteers, going through the stuff, buying up things for their business or to otherwise sell on. I've heard what they are saying to their companion or the person on the end of the phone. Like Gladys they are paying what the shop are asking. Why demonise Gladys who is putting in her shifts for free?
I don't believe she already has 20 coats by the way, think how many wardrobes she would need to store all those. She probably does what I do and if for example she manages to find a black coat that fits her well she will donate the one that is a little bit tight, but she has kept asking it was useful for funerals etc.ive done that, and before anyone sucks their teeth I'm not a shop volunteer and the nicer black coat was actually an end of season reduction, so I got a bargain, a coat that fits me much better and (another) shop got a lovely coat that was just a bit tight across my back.
As long as a volunteer or member of the public pays the price for an item, I see no problem.

For goodness sake!

Nobody is 'in a tizz'. And nobody is 'demonising' anyone.

All we are saying is that someone giving items to some shops might find that instead of their being sold to raise money for the charity, or going to someone who needs a cheap coat in a cost of living crisis they might instead go to Gladys, who already has numerous coats, and that instead of joining the coats on sale to the public at a tenner has gone for 80p because Maureen priced it at mates' rates at £1 and Gladys claimed her 20% discount.

As I carefully pointed out, my examples were deliberately fictional, in case they 'outed' the people concerned, who, as I was also careful to point out do not see anything wrong with what they are doing. They are there to illustrate a point. Gladys doesn't exist, and if she did, she might not have 20 coats. You should see her collection of brooches though. . . . .

..

About five+ years ago a friend applied for a job as Manager at a leading Charity Shop (paid position). She was well qualified as she had been the Manager of a leading Ladies clothes store but wanted to work more locally. I can’t recall the name of the Charity now, but a major one not local.

During the course of the interview she queried whether the Manager would have flexibility on pricing and was told emphatically “No. The listed price for garments is the price”.

She asked - “So, if a man came in who was obviously quite poor but needed smart clothes for an interview and was interested in a suit that you price at £25 but could only afford £15, I couldn’t use my judgement and sell it to him for £15 to help him?”
“No”. she was told.

She stopped the interview and said she wasn’t interested as she might just as well work in a high-street clothes shop that would offer better conditions, pay and benefits. So that’s what she did and where she still is.

I don’t know if all major Charities operate in this uncharitable way.

..

I volunteer at a NT second hand bookshop. We all price up new donations according to our shop rules/guidelines. However, I rarely will price vintage books as there are more expert volunteers who will do a better job than me.
If I spot a book I fancy, I always pay for it and then bring it back once read so win win for the shop. The volunteer who trained me said he used it like a lending library but I prefer to pay £1 or £2 as it is for a good cause.

It is understood that those who help out get a discount - but not freebies. In return, they sort / wash /mend / clean items, and keep the shop clean. This is only fair, I think a barter system of sorts, because they could have stayed home and watched television...

I really hope that none of the thousands of kind volunteers who work in these shops read the vitriol and accusations in this post.
Why? I rather hope they don't, but those who do will realise that none of the comments about self-serving (I don't see vitriol) are addressed to them, and that the only people accused of anything are those who take advantage.

Grrrrann
Please be assured this does not happen in all charity shops.
I volunteer in a local hospice charity shop. The majority of volunteers are there as they've chosen to give back to a charity a loved one received excellent care from.
Purchases are made after an item has been priced by the Shop Supervisor who puts the sale through the till. Volunteers are motivated to best benefit the charity not themselves.

If this is true then I'll be avoiding ages UK shops, as it is unfair that volunteers are treated worse than any other member of the public. It could be seen as discriminatory too, not being able to buy things available to everyone else. Some people want to volunteer and may have the skills to volunteer in a shop but also want the same rights to buy from that shop as any other member of the public.
I've helped at jumble sales and the occasional car boot, form charity, it's not my forte but am happy to do It as an occasional mine off, but the idea of working in a shop is not for me

Thank you Wonderbra for your comments with which I wholeheartedly agree.

The national cancer research charity to which I give several hours a week is professionally run with a strict code of conduct. It is a pleasure to work with an outstanding manager and alongside generous , committed and carefully trained volunteers. .
Although a discount is offered on staff purchases, this is usually declined by the majority of volunteers who not only give their time but are also gift aid donors. A record is also kept of volunteer purchases. Our shop is open 7 days a week with high weekly financial goals and dedicated, hardworking staff, both paid and volunteer.

If the scenario described by the OP and some others is correct in some shops, then this should be reported, as previously suggested.

Sadly, shoplifting from charity shops such as ours has increased significantly. Volunteers have to be on the look out for this as well. Not a pleasant task as I have discovered in recent times.

I used to take my stuff to a large national charity which had a very user friendly drop off point with parking and dedicated sorters.

However over the past couple of years I have had a massive downsize and clear out, and so donated vast amounts of really good stuff to them - must have been thousands of pounds worth. I am not deluding myself here, the volunteers were exclaiming over it all, and talking about previous donations at subsequent visits.

When I got my Gift Aid statement, it said that the goods I had donated had raised £16.29.

So they don't get my stuff any more.

Optimistic I can assure you that no one steals from the foodbank at which I volunteer and I take exception to such accusations. Ours is well run, accounts are audited and food hygiene inspections undertaken. I've just finished my three hour shift and my recompense has been a cup of tea - oh and a chocolate from a fellow volunteer's birthday haul.

A charity can also pay reasonable expenses that a volunteer incurs if volunteering, that could include transport costs, or free parking in the hospital car park while volunteering, or a small amount for food volunteering the whole day. A well run charity treats it's volunteers well and tries to make volunteering accessible to all regardless of income. If someone doesn't want to claim expenses they don't have to buy it would actually be better if they are taxpayers to claim the expenses and made a gift aided donation to the charity for an equivalent amount

Optomistic1

This does not surprise me one bit. I have never worked in a charity shop but I have friends who do and who also work in food banks and the amount of stealing that does on from both volunteers and the paid staff shocks me and them. The managers seem the worse!
The problem is what do the honest volunteers do? In their case they can’t tell the managers as they are in on it and is it really their responsibility to go higher than that?

I am yet to find a well run charity. The food bank that my friend works at is shocking. Useless manager who is line managed by a vicar who has no management experience and never says anything to her. It makes my blood boil the stories I hear.

It would make a great ITV drama but no one would believe it!

I have volunteered for a charity for nearly 35 years and also for a time did paid admin work, before and after me were people who had no link to the charity who did the job
It is a very well run charity with trustees who take their job very seriously. I volunteer for the hospital too and am shocked that you would assume from your experience of one charity that all are the same.
Of course you can report charities that are doing things wrongly, the charity commission or ISCR if you are in Scotland would be very interested to hear of anything that is true not just hearsay by someone who heard it from a friend of a friend

The charity shop I worked in was hit & miss with regards to how things would be priced up .
On the wall there was a printed guide on how much an item should be. So for example , a designer jumper £xx price , nice dept store ( m&s , John Lewis etc £xx , and then a scale down to low end shops , condition,& age also taken into a/c .
Then a new manager arrived who would put by items for family , friends and her staff favourites and not price as they should . I left .

Yes I agree with many here. I have exp of work in many ‘charity shops’
Some give no staff discount. Some it’s agreed to take what you want giving a donation. Some have staff price. Mates pricing for mates.
I am looking for some silver jewellery to give as Christmas gifts. I thought this would help the charities and family members. We have 12 charity shops in our town and for 2 years none have has any silver jewellery. Now I think that’s odd! I know they use on line for selling the better donations. My family didnt really believe me so I now have them asking too. Still no silver jewellery. I’d not leave any money to the big charities. There’s something odd happening.

There are many thousands of volunteer workers who give their time freely for all kinds of causes who receive absolutely no remuneration in cash or kind. That is the whole ethos of voluntary work - spending unpaid time doing something to benefit others.

I agree with most of what you say, Doodledog, but do not agree that volunteer “Gladys” should get first dibs - as I explained in my post Sunday 22:52.

And, as I explained Saturday 22:40, charities are only selling goods on behalf of the donor. Strictly, charities have a legal obligation to offer the sale proceeds to the donor. If a volunteer takes goods for themselves they are technically stealing from the donor who has entrusted those goods to the charity to sell on their behalf.

I wonder if anyone remembers the Mary Portas series Queen of Charity Shops from fifteen years ago? It’s on You Tube.

She was tasked with overhauling one of Save the Children’s worst performing shops. It was in High Street, Orpington, Kent - a shop staffed by an army of very elderly women but with no manager and no leader. Everybody just pottered about very slowly doing their own thing. Many had been doing so for decades. It was more of a social hub than a retail business.

There was a weak and ineffective area manager who was more concerned about not upsetting the volunteers than raising money for a vital cause.

The series did not touch on whether donations were taken by or sold to volunteers. Portas’s main challenges were the poor quality of donations and a very strong resistance from staff to any kind of change that would increase sales for the shop. So while the series doesn’t address the concerns about theft (and it is theft) it is a very interesting look at how some shops operate.

dogsmother

Doodledog, I actually do agree on a fair price properly set, but after that so what if Gladys has 20 of the coats? Sorry but I really couldn’t get in a tizz about something I had discarded.

Agreed so what if Gladys has 20 coats. Would anyone police Edna a non volunteer who actually has 30 coats who comes in and buys a 31st. Still same outcome, a coat not available to someone who might need it more.
I don't buy the assumption that every good quality donation will be bought by volunteers. Garments or footwear have to be your size, no point in getting the most expensive biggest brand items if they don't fit. I see things in charity shops that are big brand items, that were very expensive to buy and are hardly used, but I don't need one, think the expensive ornament is ugly and tacky, the high beans cosmetics are no good for my skin colour, that sort of thing.
I have seen people in charity shops though, not volunteers, going through the stuff, buying up things for their business or to otherwise sell on. I've heard what they are saying to their companion or the person on the end of the phone. Like Gladys they are paying what the shop are asking. Why demonise Gladys who is putting in her shifts for free?
I don't believe she already has 20 coats by the way, think how many wardrobes she would need to store all those. She probably does what I do and if for example she manages to find a black coat that fits her well she will donate the one that is a little bit tight, but she has kept asking it was useful for funerals etc.ive done that, and before anyone sucks their teeth I'm not a shop volunteer and the nicer black coat was actually an end of season reduction, so I got a bargain, a coat that fits me much better and (another) shop got a lovely coat that was just a bit tight across my back.
As long as a volunteer or member of the public pays the price for an item, I see no problem.

I guess all Charities run their shops differently. I have an elderly Aunt who volunteered for Tenovus for thirty years. it gave her something to get up for in a morning, Years ago the shop had a complete refurbish and a new manager. The tales of some decent items going in the bin was quite upsetting. Everything had to be perfection! Clothes wise I give to charities that distribute them to the homeless etc, Clothes which are not so good go in bags to the firestation. As long as they are clean you can even put socks and underwear in the bags. They receive two hundred pound per ton. This money goes towards the rehabilitation of injured fire fighters.

I have a friend who until recently volunteered in the local Oxfam Charity shop. They have been applying for a manager for twenty eight thousand pounds a year. Add this to the overheads they need to raise a lot of money for the shop alone before any of those fund go to the charity?

Another friend volunteers in Claire House Hospice Charity shop, The amount of pilfering is unbelievable even young children!!

So sad that people have to work so hard to raise funds for the wonderful work that most of these charities carry out.

That behaviour is disgraceful. Stealing from charity is the lowest of the low, and that’s what it is. My DH mistakenly took my beautiful Episode suit jacket to the charity shop in error with other things. I flew into town within the hour to say it was a mistake and could I buy it back to be told they didn’t have it. I’m sure somebody did.