How quarantined donations and fewer volunteers is affecting Sheffield's charity shops

For the past two decades, it’s been steered by the firm hand of shop manager Catherine Hatch, who has been a volunteer with Oxfam for nearly 30 years.

But even with so much experience under her belt, Catherine admits the events of the last few months have been a lot to deal with.

“There was no way to prepare for COVID-19, because we’d never been faced with anything like it before,” she says.

“After being furloughed, and months of lockdown, we then had to change everything about the way we work, the way we accept and process donations, and all with a much smaller workforce of volunteers.”

Catherine was on annual leave in Ireland back in March, watching the coronavirus situation in England unfolding on the news.

“I wasn’t certain I’d get back home, as Ireland has gone into lockdown the week before England,” she recalls.

“I headed back as soon as I was able, and came into the shop on that last Saturday, only to be told the shop would close that day - likely for three months - and as we were all being furloughed, we wouldn’t be allowed to set foot back on the premises in that time.

“All my visions of making the most of the time to clean, organise, maybe even decorate, went out of the window.”

Catherine reveals she initially found lockdown hard to deal with, living alone in Sheffield, but as the situation around the country worsened, and the death rate continued to climb, she realised how lucky she was.

“I spent a week feeling a bit sorry for myself, but then realised I had a nice house with a lovely garden, the sun shining and the countryside just ten minutes away.

“What did I have to complain about?

“As soon as I turned it into a positive, I started making the most of the time, and even enjoying it.

“The hardest part was not being able to work, as Oxfam is such a huge part of my life, and I kept thinking about all the people who rely on our proceeds.”

When the call came in June, to say Oxfam was preparing to reopen its charity shops the following week, Catherine sprang into action.

“There was a lot to do - deep cleaning and restocking the shop, as well as implementing new covid-safe working practises,” says the 63-year-old.

“I had a team of volunteers, completely stripping the shop out to deep-clean, and putting in the new summer stock.”

The shop opened three days a week to begin with, with reduced hours to allow for extra cleaning at the start and end of the day.

Catherine reveals the hardest part was losing a huge portion of her volunteers.

“Before lockdown, I had 42 volunteers,” she says.

“When it was time to reopen, more than a third weren’t comfortable coming back; mainly the older volunteers, who unfortunately were the more experienced ones.

"Of course I totally understand it, but it was still a shock and I’m feeling their absence.”

Today, the shop has a strict six customers in store policy, to enable social distancing.

There are hand sanitiser stations both at the front and back of the store, a mandatory mask policy, and screens around the till to protect both volunteers and customers.

“The way people are donating has changed too,” says Catherine.

“We’re asking people to ring first, as we can’t accommodate all the stock we did before.

“We can’t have too many volunteers together sorting donations, due to social distancing, and when new stuff arrives, it has to sit for 48-hours without being handled before it can be sorted, so there isn’t as much space.

“We accept donations now on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, to give us the chance to sort and restock in between.”

And while customers seem largely happy to return, with sales of books, homewares, clothing and accessories picking up nicely - and the online shop flourishing - Catherine reveals there is still a way to go.

“We want people to know that this is a safe place to be, and that we’re taking things very seriously.

“Oxfam is providing everything we need - from masks and gloves to sprays and wipes - and we’re ensuring that the health of our customers and volunteers comes above all else.”

Catherine has also launched a community recruitment drive, and has already taken on five new volunteers.

“We’ve had some terrific young people join us, some who have lost work due to the pandemic, and others who are students who have been stuck at home for months, and want to contribute in some way.

“If you’re at home, feeling isolated by everything that has happened, and would like to re-engage with your community and do something really useful, we’d love to hear from you.

“I know the thought of getting back out into the world can be frightening, but we are doing everything carefully.”

As for the customers, Catherine says people have been largely understanding of the need for new policies, and eager to get back out shopping, whatever that requires of them.

“I think this pandemic has brought out the best in most people, and we’re lucky that most of our customers are very tolerant and understanding of all the measures in place.

“I think people are accepting of the fact that this is how things are going to be for quite some time.”

Anybody interested in volunteering should pop into the shop to chat with Catherine.