Sharon Hammond and her husband Denis started volunteering with Save the Children’s Bateau Bay op-shop after the COVID 19 lockdowns.
The retired Bateau Bay couple had decided they would love to be volunteers, especially with the Save the Children charity which Sharon had known about thanks to her 40 years as a teacher.
“We had started going back to the shops after the lockdown and we saw the sign at the front desk saying volunteers were needed,” Sharon said.
As retirees, they thought it would be a great opportunity for them to volunteer their time, meet people and give them a new purpose in life.
After being a teacher for 40 years, Sharon said she enjoyed learning new skills and being trained in things like visual merchandising.
The Save Our Children Op Shop, located opposite the Bateau Bay Ambulance station, is enormous and the couple spend a good deal of their time there.
“It’s absolutely huge, you could find anything in here in some form or another,” Sharon said.
“You name it, we will probably have it.”
While Sharon spends her days ensuring the display of ornaments and crockery are not only colour-coded but visually appealing, Denis does the tagging and testing of any electrical items, a vital job.
“We can’t sell any electrical item unless they have been tagged as safe,” Sharon said.
“This is a very good charity to be involved with, and also, I love op shops.
“Coming here every day gives me purpose and a chance to connect.
“We’re all volunteers here and it gives us a group where we can talk about things which we might find embarrassing to talk about in other places.
“It’s a safe area to discuss things, and it’s a place to have a really good laugh.
“It’s hard work, mentally and physically, and I’m exhausted at the end of the day, but I sleep well.”
National Volunteer week is May 20 to 26 and Save the Children Australia op-shop Area Manager Courtney Harley-Wright could not praise Sharon and Denis more.
“Both Denis and Sharon always go above and beyond for any one they encounter,” she said.
“I often see Sharon on the shop floor with our customers having a great conversation, even trying to get them to volunteer with us.”
Save the Children Australia Director of Retail Andrena Nowlan said the support of volunteers was vital to enabling the organisation’s lifesaving programs.
“Without the support of volunteers, including the wonderful volunteers in our op shops, it would be much harder to carry out our work that protects and supports children across Australia and around the world,” she said.
“As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, I would like to recognise the significant contribution that volunteers play in our organisation, within their own communities, and their dedication to helping us stand up for children who need it most.”
Save the Children has operated in Australian for more than 100 years and is one of the country’s leading child rights charities.
As a global organisation, Save the Children directly reaches millions of children whose rights are threatened across more than 100 countries every year.
Good on you Denis and Sharon. I had a strong suspicion that you were good people. God bless you both.
So good to hear about everything you are doing at the Save the Children shop. Sharon and Denis you are awesome volunteers. And great to read this week, so many stories of the kind and generous people who volunteer in all different organizations, just like yourselves. This is definitely the week to celebrate everybody!
We at FIRST Australia.org are run 99% by volunteers, and National Volunteer Week is a wonderful time to acknowledge them and the contribution they make to our students, programs and everyone involved in all our events. We greatly admire and appreciate all our volunteers ! Well done everyone for being awesome.
FIRST Australia have joined the coalition of support for the strategy of volunteering with Volunteering Australia, a strategy to help change the face of volunteering countrywide. It’s a brilliant way to give back to your community, feel a sense if achievment and thrive off the goodwill.
There’s no better time to volunteer than now, the world needs more people like Sharon and Denis, to touch lives and make a positive difference to the community at large. Well done, we celebrate you!