CARDS FOR GOOD CAUSES

‘From the sale of their cards the participating charities have received at least 79p in every £1 - our volunteers are key to that 79p.’
Christine Holland, Chief Executive, Cards for Good Causes

Could you be a ‘Cards for Good Causes’ volunteer? Our shops rely on the work of volunteers to help them run efficiently and smoothly and to ensure that our member and guest charities receive the maximum return on their cards. Put quite simply, we could not do what we do without the hundreds of volunteers who help each year! And, you could be one of them.

Being a volunteer

“It is just extraordinarily humbling to be able to get involved knowing that you are not doing a job for the monetary rewards it brings but for the opportunity to give something back. I also feel very strongly about the value of CFGC, as so much of the money is actually going to the charities involved. So, it doesn’t matter which charity you support, you know that it is getting over 79% of the money from the sale of their cards.”
Rosemary C, volunteer in Beaconsfield

Our shops are open for 6-8 weeks in the run-up to Christmas and are located in a variety of premises, including churches, museums, tourist information centres, libraries, community centres and within other retail organisations. They are co-ordinated by a manager. The shops sell cards on behalf of the charities and most also sell a range of Christmas Goods, which help offset the cost of organising the shops.

Most shops divide the day into two ‘sessions’, mornings (10.00am – 1.00pm) or afternoons (1.00pm – 4.00pm). There are normally two volunteers on duty together. The majority of shops where volunteers are required close one week before Christmas, so we may not be looking for you to help out in the final run-up to Christmas.

What we will give you

We will train you in our procedures, particularly in the operation of our electronic tills, and for those shops that have them, the operation of the simple credit/debit card machines that we use. Where necessary we will show you how to re-stock the cards and keep all the goods tidy and how to do the small amount of paperwork required to check stock received in the shop. In most of our shops we will also provide you with tea and coffee making facilities and access to toilets! As we regard the health and safety of all our employees and volunteers as important we will also ensure you have access to local health and safety regulations.

Your local manager will be your point of contact and they will be able to advise you about other important information, such as whether the shop is up any steps, and whether the shop is likely to be very warm to work in, or on the colder side. They will also make suggestions for the safety of your personal belongings, as whilst we do have Public Liability Insurance, this does not cover the loss of personal possessions of the manager or the volunteers.

We also provide a friendly and fun environment in our shops, as evidenced by the fact that many of our volunteers return year after year – often bringing their friends!

What we ask from you

Many volunteers work one session per week, or one session per fortnight for the duration of the season. All we ask is that having made a commitment to a time period, you do everything you can to fulfil it. It can make our manager's lives very difficult during a busy trading season if volunteers drop out at the last minute.

Your local manager will also ask you to complete some necessary paperwork that enables us to hold your details on record so that we can ask you to volunteer with us again. We do not pass your details on to other charities, companies and/or organisations.