Royal Trinity Hospice and Team London

Guest blog by Celia Abbott, Retail Volunteer Manager, Royal Trinity Hospice

As soon as we started re-opening our shops after lockdown, it became clear that we would need to consider how we got new volunteers on board. Some of our existing volunteers came back to join us straight away, but there were lots who would not be able to do so.

You will have seen the power of volunteering bringing people together during the pandemic, with schemes such as the NHS volunteer responders. Therefore, it felt like a great time to reach out and let people know that we were looking for new volunteers.

One of the options we chose to pursue, as part of a blended recruitment approach, was listing our volunteer opportunities on the Team London website. We had used it before lockdown, but re-opening the shops felt like a good time to revisit the roles we were advertising and to refresh our profile.

The Team London website is easy to use and we were able to update our advertised roles in real-time as our needs changed. We have received a great response, with people applying for our volunteer roles on a daily basis. As is always the case with volunteer recruitment, not everyone who applies will go on to become a volunteer, but the ones who have started with us, both in our shops and in our retail head office, have been of a very high calibre. We offer our volunteers the chance to develop their skills whilst they are with us and to learn all about charity retail and sustainable fashion.

New e-commerce volunteers, Rosie and Laura, both came to us through Team London. They advised that they had applied for several volunteer roles, but that we were the first ones to respond to them. In the current climate, where lots of people are looking for ways to fill their time, it is important that you get back to respondents as soon as you can. Team London has helped us to do this by sending over applicant details as soon as they register their interest. This ensures we can then respond to them in a timely fashion.

Using Team London has certainly helped with our volunteer recruitment. It has given us a continuous source of talented and keen volunteer applicants. For the first time we have a waiting list for some of our volunteer roles! If you are recruiting volunteers in the London area, I’d say don’t hesitate to give Team London a try!

To find out more about Royal Trinity Hospices’ amazing charity shops across London visit www.royaltrinityhospice.london/shops

The Team London website reaches over 50,000 volunteers, a number which grows each month. The site helps you create the best volunteering roles which reach more volunteers. It also has dedicated website support and can publicise roles via social media platforms. Inspire volunteers across London to engage with your mission by signing up. Visit www.london.gov.uk/volunteer to find out more.