Meet the manager of our Terminus Road shop, Vanessa

To mark Hospice Care Week, we’re shining the spotlight on another member of our retail team. This time it’s the turn of Vanessa Whittle, who is Manager of our Terminus Road shop.

“I started working at St Wilfrid’s Hospice charity shop in Terminus Road Eastbourne six and a half years ago. The shop back then was a very different shopping experience from what it is today. Far more the ‘traditional’ view of charity shops with most shelves crammed with all sorts, in the hope of attracting and selling as much as possible for the cause.

I was thrilled to be given this chance to work for the hospice. It offers all involved a fulfilling experience, contributing to a community-focused organisation that supports end of life care services. Our shops are instrumental in raising funds that go directly toward hospice care, enabling better facilities and support for patients and their families.

I come from a long career in high-end retail, managing shops in Knightsbridge and Oxford Street, so I have an inbuilt desire to merchandise any retail outlet to its fullest potential. With supportive management, I feel I have the opportunity to showcase our retail areas to their potential and achieve the very best for the charity and my team.

After working two days a week as the Deputy Manager in Terminus Road, in May 2022 I was offered the chance to manage the Herstmonceux shop. This is the smallest shop in the fleet and in my view one of the very best to showcase community support to become more than just a shop, but a social hub within the local community. Working there provides a chance to connect with people from all walks of life, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose, and also a deep sense of contribution to a meaningful cause.

A career in this setting involves various responsibilities, from customer service and merchandising, to handling donations and promoting the hospice’s mission. The environment also allows for personal growth through retail skills.

I worked at Herstmonceux for nearly two years and during that time I continued to foster an environment of community involvement relying heavily on the hard work and dedication of our local volunteers.

I was then fortunate to secure the role of full-time Manager of the Terminus Road shop, a place I have loved working in, and wanted to help take on the next stage of its journey to achieve its potential. I wanted our shop to stand out from the crowded marketplace of charity shops in the town centre as a place showing all the very best of our hospice and also for me personally a sense of fulfilment that comes from knowing your efforts are supporting something bigger.

So many people come into our shop now and say that it is the smartest in town – several say that they don’t even think it’s a charity shop because the quality is so high, and the style of the shop is more akin to high street retailers.

Sustainability is important, and we encourage the reuse and recycling of goods, and extending the life of donated items, while cultivating our own brand of community engagement with my wonderful team of volunteers, without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. Retail provides a variety of opportunities to develop transferable skills such as customer service, retail management, merchandising and teamwork, and it’s a great way to gain experience that can be valuable for future career development.

I love working for St Wilfrid’s and with an amazing management who understands and supports me, I look forward to every stage of our shop’s growth and being there to support it on its way.

If anyone asks me about potentially working for St Wilfrid’s I would say that working in a charity shop can be an enriching experience, blending professional growth with the chance to support and uplift others, and has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

 

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The grandson of one of our founders has been working here as part of his specialist training to become a medical consultant.
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Mollie Stevens was just six years old when her dad died at St Wilfrid’s Hospice. Now she's running the London Marathon to fundraise for us.
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