Guild Care opened its first charity shop more than 40 years ago. We now have 11 charity shops selling a wide variety of items, including second-hand and new furniture, vintage clothes, bric-a-brac, books and children's toys. Money raised from the charity shops goes towards running our vital community services for people of all ages.

Sara has been volunteering at our Goring Road charity shop since October 2018. Asked if she’d recommend volunteering at a Guild Care charity shop to others, she said: “One hundred per cent. I think, whatever your circumstances in life, you get a lot out of it as well as the charity getting a lot out of it. And it stops being about doing it for the good of the charity, it starts being about doing it for the good of everybody in the community of Worthing, because everybody knows someone that’s used or might use Guild Care in some way. It’s just an amazing charity.”

Sara at Walk for Worthing in 2019

She was kind enough to talk to us about how she got into volunteering, what she gets out of doing so, and what her favourite things about Goring Road are.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering at one of our charity shops, send our Volunteer Coordinator a message via our online form.

How did you get into volunteering?

We moved to Worthing and I eventually had to give up work as my mother needed a lot of care. After some months, I couldn’t cope either. Guild Care just swept me up and helped, basically, and I’m eternally grateful. Especially as we had a cleaner once a week who did the ironing, which was heaven for me!

After my mother died, I wanted to give something back. My oldest granddaughter, who was 16, went to volunteer at Goring road and loved it. When she started college, I took her place.

What’s the strangest or most interesting item you’ve seen donated at Goring Road?

I tend to like the things that come in that have a story to them. When somebody donates something and says, you know, ‘This was the dress that I wore to my sister’s wedding. They’d been engaged for 25 years.’ It’s great when they tell you something about it – ‘This is the ornament that stood on my grandma’s mantelpiece, I’ve known it all my life – and I’ve never liked it!’

And I love it when people buy things and tell us what they did with them. A man might buy a suit and come back and say, ‘I wore that suit to an interview and I got the job.’

What do you get out of volunteering?

Oh, I get masses out of it. 

Having moved to Worthing, I didn’t have any friends locally, and not working and not having children nearby, I didn’t really have a way of meeting people. People I met tended to be my mum’s doctors or carers – I didn’t meet anyone that was just for me.

When I started volunteering at Guild Care, not only did I become friends with a lot of other volunteers, I met people in the community as the shop has lots of regulars. It basically gave me my social life.

It also gave some structure to my life, something to do that was worthwhile.

What’s your favourite thing about volunteering in the Goring Road charity shop?

The people. The ones I work with, the customers, the ones that donate, the ones I see out and about that recognise me from the shop, and the ones I meet at Guild Care events. It’s definitely the people.

Would you recommend volunteering in a Guild Care charity shop to others?

One hundred per cent. I think, whatever your circumstances in life, you get a lot out of it as well as the charity getting a lot out of it. And it stops being about doing it for the good of the charity, it starts being about doing it for the good of everybody in the community of Worthing, because everybody knows someone that’s used or might use Guild Care in some way. It’s just an amazing charity.

And finally, how would you describe Guild Care in three words? 

Unique, local and compassionate.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering at one of our charity shops, send our Volunteer Coordinator a message via our online form.