Behind our Hospice Shops are a dedicated team of people who do very valuable mahi for the Hospice. Thomas initially began volunteering at the Thorndon Hospice Shop in late 2019 and joined the team in a full-time role soon after. Aside from being a Shop Manager, Thomas is also one of the Hospice’s ‘Grocery Angels’, a team of staff who will deliver essential items to other staff members, should they contract COVID-19 or need to self-isolate.
We chat to Thomas about what the Thorndon Hospice Shop is best known for on the ‘op shop grapevine’, a memorable donation his Hospice Shop once received (which now resides in Te Papa’s collection permanent collection!) and his gratitude for his team of volunteers.
How long have you been working with Mary Potter Hospice?
I moved to Wellington in June 2019, and started volunteering at the Thorndon Hospice Shop on Saturdays shortly afterwards. I started working for the Hospice full time in about October 2019, rolling out the new POS system to our eight Hospice Shops and sometime in early 2020 I started working at the Thorndon Hospice Shop as the manager.
What do you love most about working for hospice?
There is a definite feel you get from the regular customers, that they donate goods to Mary Potter Hospice because they believe in the cause. Often customers will tell you that someone in their family used the Hospice’s services in their time of need, so they’ve been a supporter ever since.
Tell us a little about your store:
The overwhelming majority of our sales are women’s clothes and books of all kinds. That’s what we seem to be known for in the ‘op shop grapevine’ around town. A number of our regular customers comment that they love seeing new stock in these areas when they come in each week.
What’s the best Hospice Shop find you’ve come across, or share a memorable donation that your store received:
We found a small hand-blown glass axe that was a souvenir of the 1925/26 Dunedin and South Seas Exhibition. I contacted Te Papa, and they were interested in it for their collection. So after we completed the appropriate paperwork, it now resides in their collection forever. Whenever it is displayed in the future, it will be shown alongside a “with thanks to Mary Potter Hospice” plaque.
Tell us a little about your team:
The team here are mostly retirees looking to stay active in the community, alongside a handful of school students from the local area who help out on Saturdays. They have a variety of life experiences, but a number of them are from heath professional backgrounds like nurses and doctors etc. I’m very grateful for their stories, experiences, and expertise – especially when it comes to the various New Zealand-made items. Being an Australian myself, I had no idea initially about iconic NZ brands like Crown Lynn (and still don’t know much!)
How can people get involved or support your store?
We’re always looking for new people to join the volunteer team in store during the week to assist with pricing and customer service. If you have a three hour slot (morning or afternoon) one day a week, and would like to help out alongside other friendly people, then you can find the application form on our website, or come in for a chat. Aside from volunteering, we’re always looking for good quality pre-loved goods to sell in store.
Visit Thomas and his team at the Thorndon Hospice Shop:
95 Thorndon Quay, Thorndon
Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm
Saturday 10am – 2pm