Volunteering

We won the Kings Award for Voluntary Service which recognises the tremendous commitment demonstrated by our volunteers.

We are very proud of this achievement which is testimony to the excellent contribution our team of volunteers make to keep our shop and café running.

About our volunteers and community

We have a volunteering force to be reckoned with, a place where community spirit is kept alive by residents of all ages serving their community.

There are more than 50 volunteers with an average of 93 customer-facing volunteer hours worked each week.

There are many links between the village and local organisations, including the pre-school, St. Leonard’s CE Primary Academy and Uplands School.

We also work alongside the local Church, local Constabulary, Highworth Lions and local businesses, supporting each other whenever we can.

Volunteer testimonials

Being part of developing and creating this beautiful new shop and café has been incredibly rewarding. I love being a volunteer and giving back to my local community.

Charli Roberts

I started volunteering in April 2021 and I’ve loved every minute. It’s great to see how the shop has grown and developed over the years, now with the addition of the café. It can be challenging working in the cafe at busy times but that’s what makes it enjoyable.

Karen Donovan

Excited by the idea of a community shop & café, I began volunteering. Our customers are the ones who keep me coming back. I love being able to make their experience a welcoming one.

Jill Burgess

Benefits of volunteering

It’s a great place to start new friendships and meet people if you’ve recently moved to the village.

Our volunteers have varied skillsets and the shop and café support them to further grow and deepen their skills.

There are opportunities to take on specific roles based on your experience, for example we have a retired accountant as our Treasurer, a former finance clerk supporting our accounts payable activity and a HR professional offering support on all things personnel related.

There are plenty of opportunities to try something different and gain new skills such as barista training, first aid training as well as food hygiene.

Becoming a volunteer

One way to support the Blunsdon Community Shop & Café, while also spending time in a beautiful environment and making new friends, is to volunteer.

Volunteering is a rewarding experience which helps you to develop both social and practical skills whilst learning something new.

Our volunteers make our vision of creating a social hub for the community possible.

Duke of Edinburgh Award students are welcome and supervisory volunteers are DBS checked to facilitate this.

We’re always looking for new volunteers of all ages, so if you’d like to explore how you could support your local community shop and café please get in touch.