Gatwick Staff In St Catherine’s Hospice Shop Challenge

More than 60 airport staff from Gatwick Airport swapped their regular jobs for retail roles as part of a volunteering charity challenge in St Catherine’s Hospice charity shops across Surrey and Sussex.

The programme saw Gatwick employees split into teams and deployed to St Catherine’s 16 shops across Sussex and Surrey, including the Crawley shop. Teams were kept busy with a series of tasks and challenges. Going head-to-head against their colleagues, staff got stuck into sorting donations, steaming and pricing items, and decorating shop windows with stock for the autumn fashion season.

As well as the daily shop tasks, teams had some fun whilst doing their bit for the hospice which provides end of life care and support to terminally ill people and their families across Crawley, Horsham, East Surrey and Mid Sussex. The kind hearted volunteers had to find five items with a link to Gatwick Airport, and there was a prize for the best outfit for a team member to wear to the pub.

Wayne Stepney, retail development manager at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “We were thrilled to have so many Gatwick Airport staff volunteer with us. They helped with a range of tasks including setting up some beautiful window displays that really showcase the quality of our shop’s stock. We rely on volunteers to help serve our local community and I hope this highlights just how easy it is!”

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Volunteer For St Catherine’s Hospice

Have you been inspired by the Gatwick staff? For more information about volunteering at one of St Catherine’s charity shops or the furniture warehouse, visit: www.stch.org.uk or call: 01293 447351.

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Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport, serving more than 228 destinations worldwide in 74 countries for 45 million passengers a year on short and long-haul services. The airport engages with the community and charitable organisations yearly giving time and expertise, and in 2017, the airport’s charity partners are St Catherine’s Hospice, Gatwick Travel Care and Cancer Research UK.

Gatwick Airport community engagement manager, Melanie Wrightson, said: “We had a fantastic day volunteering in St Catherine’s shops and they definitely kept us busy! It was a brilliant chance for us to give back to our local charity partner, which does so much to help terminally ill people in the wider Gatwick area, whilst indulging in some friendly competition with our colleagues.’

“St Catherine’s staff and volunteers do a fantastic job promoting the hospice and get through a huge amount of donations each day. We were pleased to be able to help them out and would like to thank them for their hospitality and good spirit!”

St Catherine’s Hospice pioneers standards in end of life care through collaboration, research and training, reaching even more people facing death and bereavement. The hospice benefits from the volunteering of more than 800 people giving their time and expertise to help make specialised care exceptional – from cheering runners across the finish line to turning shop donations into vital funds.

By Jacob White