Volunteering

Our volunteers

Volunteers needed – to join our friendly team

Our volunteers are an important part of the High Wycombe Shopmobility team, without their help and commitment, we would not be able to provide and maintain services such as meeting people from their car or bus.

Interested in being one of our volunteers?

People of all ages and from all walks of life have worked as volunteers for High Wycombe Shopmobility.

You might be:

retired and looking for a part-time role as a way of being part of the community
looking for a part-time role in a friendly, inclusive environment
looking for a part-time role which will give you new skills, such as customer service, general administration, database management
looking for work experience and a reference for your CV

We currently need volunteers who are able to spare a few hours a week – for either a morning or afternoon, one or two days a week.

If you are interested and would like to find out more about being a High Wycombe Shopmobility volunteer, please call us on 01494 472277 or complete and return a volunteer enquiry form.

What’s it like to work as a High Wycombe Shopmobility volunteer?

Katy was a volunteer with High Wycombe Shopmobility.

What led you to volunteer? During the pandemic I saw lots of stories about people volunteering and I just wanted to help, to ‘give something back’, so I registered with the Volunteer Matching Service. When one of the team spoke to me about the Shopmobility role, I knew nothing about the charity or what it does, but I thought I’d give it a go, I find I am really enjoying it.

What is your role? I am one of the volunteers who man the Shopmobility office in the Eden Centre in High Wycombe. On a typical afternoon I’ll spend my time answering the phone, taking bookings for scooters or wheelchairs and handing them over to clients for their use. If a client hasn’t used the service before I’ll sort out their membership and take them through a mini-driving test to make sure they know how to use the equipment safely. When the scooter or wheelchair is returned then I’d clean it to minimise COVID infection risk.

Was there anything surprising about the role? I had to do a little driving test in a mobility scooter myself to make sure I could operate it safely as well as showing clients how to use them. One of the services the charity offers is that we can meet clients at the bus station with a pre-booked scooter or wheelchair so its important that all the team can ride them safely. We also have to be able to manoeuvre them around the premises for cleaning and storage.

Are there any negative aspects to the role? Only on a day when there aren’t many clients, as time can pass a bit more slowly then. But I expect more people will use Shopmobility and we will be busier once normality resumes after the pandemic.

What do you gain personally from volunteering? I enjoy interacting with people who I wouldn’t have met in my everyday life. Many of them are eager to chat and, for some, a trip to the Eden Centre with the help of a Shopmobility scooter is the only outlet they have.

It is wonderful to be able to make a difference to people. Many of them are just so grateful, and often pleasantly surprised that the service is free.

I am part of a great bunch of people at Shopmobility, it is a really friendly team. They are very flexible and understanding if I can’t volunteer on my usual afternoon and have to swap to a different day.

Would you recommend volunteering? I would absolutely recommend volunteering – whether at Shopmobility or elsewhere. If you have the time, it can be so fulfilling.

Remembering Charles Harrison who was a volunteer at Shopmobility for over 20 years

Charles Harrison was a much valued part of the Shopmobility team for many years and will be very sadly missed by all of the team members and all of the customers that knew him.

Local support

We appreciate the support of the Eden Shopping Centre and Buckinghamshire Council in helping set up and provide resources to support our service. We have also enjoyed the support of other organisations who have helped provide supplies either free or at cost price, sponsored our leaflets, provided grants for equipment, helped support our events, donated goods for our raffles or have got involved in organising fundraising events. If you have got something to offer us we would be delighted to hear from you.

We would like to thank the following organisations:

To get involved please phone High Wycombe Shopmobility office on 01494 472277