A volunteer at St Margaret’s Hospice Care is celebrating after reaching a huge milestone of 30 years in service to the hospice.
Evelyn Woodfield, 67, has been volunteering at St Margaret’s Clothes Shop in Cornhill since 1991. She started volunteering for the hospice after she took early retirement with her husband who left his job due to ill health and has never looked back.
I’ve loved every minute of my time at the hospice shop and I would encourage anyone who is thinking of volunteering to pop in and give it a go."
During her 30 years of service Evelyn, who lives in Bridgwater, has served thousands of customers and raised thousands of pounds for the hospice so they can continue to care for patients and their families across Somerset, ensuring no one faces a life-limiting illness alone.
Evelyn said: “I used to work part-time in a shop and my husband worked full time. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and left his job due to ill health. As a result, we retired early, and we had a lovely retirement while he could still do things.
“I decided to start volunteering at St Margaret’s as I wanted a change. I had experience in retail, so I just came in for a morning to see what it was like and the rest is history. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and working with the team.”
Evelyn volunteers at the clothes shop every Tuesday morning and said she enjoys serving customers and working with her ‘dedicated’ team. In her free time, she also does some fundraising in aid of charities which support people with multiple sclerosis.
To thank Evelyn for her 30 years of service staff at the Bridgwater clothes shop presented her with flowers, chocolates and a card on Monday, April 12.
We have a close-knit team here at the St Margaret’s clothes shop in Bridgwater and I frequently see customers outside the store, and they always stop and say hello. My favourite part of working at the shop is serving the customers. I am a social person so love interacting with the customers and listening to their stories. I also really enjoy working with my team who are all so dedicated, kind and lovely to be around."
“I was previously a nurse so I can really appreciate all of the work that the brilliant staff at St Margaret’s do. I’ve learnt a lot about what the hospice does during my time here, it’s not just a place that cares for people at the end of their life. The nurses care for people in the community and there’s a lot of support available. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the hospice for such a long time and I look forward to continuing to work with my amazing team to help them in the future.“
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