Volunteer Spotlight
Welcome to Volunteer Spotlight, a space to shine a light and celebrate the amazing work of The Hygiene Bank Volunteers.
A special mention this month goes to our Volunteer Spotlight – Deman from Camden and Islington.
Summer can be a busy time, but that does not take away from the fantastic hard work and commitment Deman continues to show in supporting Camden. Well done, Deman, and thank you for everything you are doing.
Below, you’ll find a lovely piece from Partnership Manager, Lee Pillar, highlighting Deman’s work.
Lee Pillar, Partnership Manager,
“For an Acorn project, she does so much. We always have so much to talk about in terms of what she’s been doing for the project, and despite having a busy work life, she always finds time to keep the project active and moving. She delivers a lot of products to homeless charities in Camden and Islington – two Single Homeless Projects, The Salvation Army, and Little Village Camden.
She is always on top of everything despite challenges the project faces, such as: deliveries not arriving and being sent back to the warehouse, Boots staff not cooperating with her requests to replace or move boxes in stores (to which she found an alternative solution by getting a contact at Boots HQ who has supported and sorted these issues), storing over 100kg of product in her flat in London (which as we know is probably not the biggest!), and managing to still distribute out to her Community Partners regularly once a month.”
July: Charlotte from THB Ipswich
This month, we’re shining a light on Charlotte from THB Ipswich. Laurie, Project Coordinator in Ipswich, was quick to mention Charlotte’s name when asked about standout volunteers. Despite juggling a busy schedule, Charlotte still finds time to support The Hygiene Bank, and her commitment and energy are having a huge impact locally.
Hi I’m Charlotte from Ipswich, wife and mother to 4 including identical twins born 8 weeks early due to PROM in November 24. I’ve known Laurie our project Co-Ordinator for about 16 years and it was her who got me interested in The Hygiene Bank. I have been volunteering when possible since Laurie took over the branch, mainly on our Facebook page and where possible also helping to collect from boxes around the county, weigh, sort and distribute. As you can imagine this isn’t often due to my own health and family commitments but being part of The Hygiene Bank Ipswich really is a full time role for everyone in the team (there’s 13 of us and several more waiting to join) so it’s lovely that we all support each other. Plus it’s nice to get out of the house alone these days!
I don’t have time for hobbies but I love studying and helping others plus doing anything alone and in silence as my bubble can be very loud sometimes. It makes me happy doing something to support others 🩷
Initially as I hadn’t heard of The Hygiene Bank before, I wasn’t too keen on joining but Laurie sold the idea to me and I was shocked that such a thing didn’t exist, even as a former top up shop user myself I had no idea the support wasn’t out there. This was enough for me, especially as Laurie and I are keen olio ambassadors and hate waste, the two projects marry up well for us.
I have also had the opportunity to teach English to refugees in the past and volunteer in various sectors have have seen first hand the impact a gift like accessible hygiene has.
As most people will understand there are no two days the same which I am grateful for. We could be doing a simple collection and distribution, sorting and weighing products or distributing them, accepting pallets of products in the pouring rain or having a fabulous corporate volunteering day. It all certainly keeps us on our toes!
Whilst there are challenges such as volunteer time, space for products and the general logistics we all face coordinating so much all at once it’s is exciting and satisfying when we are able to overcome obstacles.
Thank you Charlotte, from the central team - you will be receiving a little something through the door from Boots!
June: Janice Sedgwick from THB Guilford
We’re shining a light on Janice Sedgwick, who is celebrating an incredible six years of volunteering with The Hygiene Bank in Guildford.
Janice has been at the heart of her local project since it began, dedicating her time, passion, and energy to supporting her community. Her commitment over the past six years is a true testament to the difference volunteers can make — not just to the people they support, but to the wider community around them. Thank you Janice, for all that you have done, and continue to do!
“My name is Janice and I am the Project Coordinator for THB Guildford. I began my professional working life as a State Registered Nurse and I worked in an acute regional neurosurgical unit at The Royal London Hospital and then in Intensive Care at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey. I lived in Hong Kong for 3 years when my husband was posted there with his company. During that time I worked in the Financial Services sector and was involved in the admin and marketing for unit trust funds. We were there during the big stock market crash of 1987 - that was quite an experience!
When we returned to the UK, I took a career break while we had our two children. I retrained as a specialist teacher, working with students with learning difficulties including dyslexia and autistic spectrum disorders. I have worked in Primary, Secondary and Higher education.
I finished working in 2018. In the summer of 2019 I was asked by a friend, who had recently become a volunteer with the Hygiene Bank, to help support her as she established the Guildford project. Not long after, my friend moved away and stepped down from the Project Coordinator role and I stepped up!
For most of my 6 years volunteering with THB I have worked alone, but I am delighted to say that last year I persuaded a very good friend to become a volunteer with me. She is amazing and it is a joy to have someone to share ideas with. I am always on the lookout for more volunteers or even someone who will be part of our succession plan.
We support 21 Community Partners at THB Guildford so my weeks are busy. My workload includes fielding emails, collecting packing and distributing products. Where possible, I plan regular collections and distributions, but those urgent email requests just keep coming! I also spend time raising awareness by speaking at local network meetings, schools, WI events etc.
THB Guildford recently had the chance to run a Network Event at the Coppa Club in Guildford. We used the opportunity to bring together some of CPs, our storage provider and some of the locations that host our collection points. Lottie and Julia from the central team helped organise the event and attended too. The feedback has been very positive - people particularly enjoyed meeting the other organisations who form part of the process and learning more about the types of families we support. We are planning to run a similar event at the same venue during National Hygiene Week.
My son, Rob recently took part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon and raised over £500 for THB. This was only his third competitive race and he finished with a very good time, so it was a wonderful occasion for many reasons. A real ‘proud Mum’ moment.
In my working life I have met people in all sorts of situations; often at some of the most vulnerable times in their life. Helping people to feel clean, fresh and ready to face meeting others has always been a vital part of the care and support that I tried to provide. The comfort of being able to wash your hands and face after an operation or the pleasure of having clean clothes or clean sheets can have a massive impact. The concept that many people cannot afford such simple essentials still disturbs me and it is this that continues to motivate me.
When I am not running around with a car load of nappies and shampoo, you might find me looking after my 2 year old Granddaughter, doing my daily workout, singing with a choir, meeting with friends, baking cakes, gardening at our allotment, watching sport or just chilling with my husband while we binge watch Netflix.”