Donna’s Story
Donna joined the St Gemma’s family as a volunteer, supporting our charity shops for five and a half years, and now she is employed in our retail team. This is her story.
Donna was new to Leeds and felt isolated at home, caring for her autistic son who she was home schooling. This situation made it difficult for Donna to find employment in her profession as an Early Year’s Practitioner and she found her mental health was deteriorating. She wanted to meet new friends and get out and about.
Donna put a message out on the Leeds Place Facebook community group, and one of our current volunteers responded and said – have you thought about volunteering in a charity shop? So Donna called into our Halton shop and had a taster session to see if it was something that she would enjoy.
She started volunteering in the Halton shop a few days a week back in 2017, and really enjoyed it. Donna went on to volunteer for 5 and a half years!
Donna’s volunteering helped her to gain new skills and confidence, and she is now employed with St Gemma’s as a Bank Deputy Manager.
Donna says: “Volunteering gave me flexibility and has really helped my mental health. The staff and team really helped me to gain confidence.”
Thank you for giving your time Donna and sharing your story – we’re lucky to have you on our team! To find out more about volunteering or being part of our team, please visit our online recruitment platform.