Though I moved on from that company when I was 15, as although I stayed in for longer than I needed to to meet my Duke of Edinburgh 6-month quota, I was getting closer to GCSE season, and would rather spend my time revising than being bullied by a 6-year-old for how much I touch my hair. Since then, I've volunteered in a charity shop, a primary school, and (most recently) a café. The main things I wanted to touch on in this blog post were the charity shop and the café.
I'm not sure if anyone else has seen these sorts of videos, but I see a lot of people (especially Americans) complaining that volunteers and workers of charity (or thrift shops for Americans) get an unfair advantage at claiming donated clothes. And could that be true? Maybe. But is it true in my experience? No. A lot of the people making these claims are other people who have the same sort of fashion sense as me, which mainly comprises of Hollister, and so they say that it's soo hard to get Hollister at charity/thrift shops because the workers get them! But from my time volunteering at Barnardo's, I've never met someone who has the same sort of fashion sense as me who would be interested in trying to get Hollister pieces. And even then, I think people are under the assumption that we can just take some items home, but we do pay for them - yes, we get a discount (or at least I do), but we still pay for them because they're raising money for charity!
But I can sympathise with those people; I've never once seen Hollister, Edikted, Subdued, Stradivarius, or any brands like that on the charity shop shelves or in any bags. But do you know why? Because most of those people will sell their clothes on Vinted when they don't want them! Very rarely will they donate them (this is not a criticism because I'm the exact same). Anyways, this was all to share that last week, I found TWO Hollister tops and a Stradivarius top. This was whilst I was helping my manager with shop take-offs. For anyone unaware, as I only know this because I volunteer in the charity shop, each item on the shelves is put out with a date on it, which is essentially the expiry date. Items have a 2-week time limit on the shelves; after that, they are 'take-offs'. But also, depending on the staffing and the donations received, some items will remain on for longer (I think closer to the expiry date means they'll be more open to bargaining the price? I've seen it tried before and they said no as it hadn't been on the shelves for long). Anywho, I was helping with women's take-offs - my manager got the clothes, I went through (certain brands get a second chance and are put out again for half price), and when I sorted through, I found it. The most gorgeous little Hollister t-shirt. And then, another two blessings: I found a Hollister vest and a Stradivarius t-shirt. So, whilst I didn't plan to keep the latter two, all of the items were out for less than £5, so I knew my 20% discount would mean I could get some good money on them on Vinted. So I asked my manager if I could keep them to the side to sell, and then she told me some of the most glorious news I've ever heard: she said I could half price them for myself. Anyways, I'm now the proud owner of one of the cutest little T-shirts ever.
I told this story to kind of give people an idea of what a charity shop is like (at least in my experience). So yes, I was lucky because I was able to get them half price. BUT, people had a chance to buy those tops themselves. So maybe it's worth continually going through charity shops to see what they have in stock? I think for Christmas, I would love to get a sewing machine so that, if I'm volunteering or even just out browsing charity shops in general, and I see a top or something that I like that's too big, or an item of clothing that I love the pattern of, I could just alter it or make something new from it. Those are my favourite sorts of videos! I think it'd be something fun to do too; I could get some new clothes for verrry cheap, or I could also have just some entirely unique clothes. My mam used to be a seamstress, so maybe that would help.
I kind of went on another, but longer, tangent there, but I now want to talk about my volunteering in a café. I've said in a previous post about my starting at the Royal Voluntary Service, and I really enjoy it! I wish I'd heard of it earlier. I think it's something I could have done during sixth form, since I had Tuesdays off, and it's a great way to gain experience for a job - which is kind of what my goal is currently. I think it would be great if more people knew that they were able to volunteer in a café like I am now, as one of the problems with applying to jobs today is that most of them require experience, which is ridiculous for minimum wage entry-level roles. So if people are privileged enough to be in a position to wait to gain experience (like I am), then I think volunteering with the RVS is an undiscovered gold mine. Especially because you are just doing the exact job of a barista, but unfortunately with no pay. Honestly, I'm grateful I can be in a position to volunteer with them to gain experience, and I don't have to search for paid work, so I understand that not everyone is in this position. But I am not a unique person. There are likely hundreds of people like me who want to work but lack the experience and don't necessarily need a job, and so I think roles like these would be ideal for them (like how it's ideal for me).
But I do think that this is kind of an advertisement issue. I can't even remember how I found out that the Royal Voluntary Service existed; I think it was because of the ward helpers? But I wasn't keen on getting a DBS check, though I think that maybe I would like to do a role similar to that in the future. I'm considering being a paediatric ward helper (as I want to be a paediatric pharmacist), but this is something I'll have to look into more once I start university.
Anywho, away from roles I wish I could have, I think that there would be way more Retail Café Volunteers who are roughly my age - as, currently, I am the youngest, and the person closest in age to me is 34. I think this is a highly unappreciated volunteer opportunity. I'm really hoping that this role will help me fulfil the year-long experience that nearly all entry-level job positions require, and I think that more people would join this role if they knew about it. Although I think that people shouldn't have to do free work just to gain experience for a minimum wage job - especially since teenagers have a lower minimum wage than the adults they're hiring- it's like no one wants to hire teenagers because they have to train them.
This post sort of went into a mini rant about how poor the job market is for teenagers; most of the people I know who got jobs at 16 got them because they knew someone already in the company or their parents were friendly with the managers. But I do really love volunteering; I mean, I have my job now, and I have my first shift coming up soon! I just love being given something to do, but when I say that on applications or to employers, I feel as though they think I'm a liar and being a beggar. It's just such a cliché.
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