This week we were joined by the Worcester team from Virgin Money as part of their CSR. The team approached us wanting to lend a hand that would be most valuable and beneficial to our service users and we had just the job!
The team spent the day with our Volunteer Coordinator Steph and some of our experienced volunteers in the Clothing Project sorting out all of the latest donations, but mainly reorganising the shop to make it more service-user-friendly and make space for more stock.
Steph, our Volunteer Coordinator, explains: “Along with four of our regular volunteers, three of whom had taken a day’s annual leave to be with us, we welcomed a team from Virgin Money to help us have a reorganisation day at Clothing.”
“We are trying to continue to develop the service we provide for those we work with by making Clothing a more organised and easy shopping experience and have spent months preparing for the final push on the reorganisation of stock and putting a process in place to manage the stock levels of the items we must always have available to our customers.”
The Virgin Money team were amazing, they were so friendly and just got stuck into our plan for the day. They were full of ideas and suggestions and worked hard to complete more than we could have hoped for in one day. The highlights for me were the re-organisation of our shoes, blankets and throws – now rolled up with a ribbon to make it easier to store and for people to take away and the men’s underwear and pyjama section which now looks so professional.
Thank you all for your time, enthusiasm and hard work.”
Since opening in 2003, our Clothing Project has aided our service users at whatever part of their journey. Whether this be a first-time use for a rough sleeper looking for bedding and clothing to survive the night or someone who has gained housing, we support our service users through every segment of their re-entry to society.
Our Clothing Project welcomed 1477 people alone in 2023 and offers anything from sleeping bags, roll mats and pillows to kitchen appliances, toiletries and food to those who have either been accessing our services or referred to us via local partnering agencies.
Jessica Smith, Field Business Development Manager at Virgin Money, explains: “We were delighted to spend the day at Maggs’ Clothing Project and see for ourselves what fantastic work they do around the county. As part of our CSR at Virgin Money, we are allotted dedicated time volunteering for local charities. We chose Maggs because of their countywide reputation and the dedicated support to those in need in our community”.
“It was extremely humbling to hear the stories and the wide variety of reasons that people experience homelessness and the small things like donating your unused clothes can do to help those in need.”
“Thank you so much to Steph and the volunteering team for organising such a great day and we look forward to working with Maggs in the future”.
Zoe Challinor, Field Business Development Manager at Virgin Money, adds: “Volunteering at Maggs Clothing Project in Worcester was a truly rewarding experience. it was inspiring to see the dedication of the Maggs team. The passion and commitment of every volunteer at Maggs are evident in the impactful work they do. It was an honour to contribute to such a meaningful cause. Thank you for having us!”
For more information on how you can volunteer your time with us, please contact us at volunteers@maggsdaycentre.co.uk or visit our Volunteers page.
