Posted on: 01 Jun 2023
Jackie, who used to work as a civil servant but is now retired, works on Wednesdays in our Charity Hub and we spent the day with her learning everything it takes to be a Charity Hub volunteer.
9:30am – Jackie opens the hub and within 5 minutes of opening her first customer comes in! She starts looking around and Jackie greets her with a kind smile, a “Good morning!”, and a few questions to help the patient find what she is looking for. The visitor chooses a few gifts to purchase and promises to be back soon! Afterwards, Jackie checks that the stock looks presentable and is fully topped up before greeting some more visitors.
10:30am – It’s been a busy morning so far with families who are visiting patients passing by and saying hello to staff who are on shift that day. Jackie previously worked as a meet and greet volunteer at QMC, so was delighted some of her friends popped in to say hello. She even tried to convince them to sign up as a volunteer for the hub.
11:30am – We received a visit from our youngest customer of the day - Reuben, aged 6, who had an appointment at ENT. Reuben took a liking to our Nottingham Children’s Hospital water bottles, and he managed to convince his mum to buy him one. Reuben actually walked away with three water bottles, as he bought two more for his brothers too! Reuben walked away a very happy customer and he waved bye to Jackie as he left.
1:30pm – Once the lunchtime rush ends, Jackie has time to restock the shelves and replace anything that has been sold throughout the day. This helps get the hub ready for the next day.
2:15pm – Exciting moment in the hub! A patient’s family comes in after visiting them and are eager to give back to the Ward where their loved one is being looked after. This is a great chance for Jackie to sign them up to one of our events . The family tells her they are looking for something local that they can do around hospital visits and work, she suggests Hike for your Hospitals, which can be done around other commitments. They love this idea and sign up on the spot! Afterwards they tell Jackie that they pledged to walk a collective distance of 50 miles throughout June in aid of the Ward that is taking incredible care of their loved one.
Jackie was on hand to help all our visitors to find what they needed and they all walked away with a big smile and a promise of a return visit.