Volunteers Week 2022: Read landlord Sue's story
Volunteers Week takes place annually between 1st-7th June.
In each edition of our members' magazine Property, we shine the spotlight on a member who who volunteers in their community, or goes the extra mile to help others. Here, we feature landlord Sue Hull's story. Sue volunteers at a charity shop donation centre and for her local park run as a guide runner.
Two days a week, landlord Sue Hull can be found rummaging through hundreds of cardboard boxes crammed full of second-hand clothes, jewellery and handbags. Each box contains donated items, delivered on the back of a van to a donation warehouse in the heart of Hastings.
As a volunteer at St Michael’s Hospice Donation Centre, it’s Sue’s job to inspect each item and decide which pre-loved pieces are in a good enough condition to be resold. “I’ve always loved accessories like jewellery and handbags, so I tend to focus on sorting these donations,” says Sue. “I sometimes find real gems – designer bags that just need a bit of a dust down or bracelets that could do with a bit of a polish, so I take care of that. It’s exciting when a new truck arrives, ready to be unloaded.” Sue is one of several regular volunteers at the donation centre.
The pandemic meant the centre had to shut temporarily, though it operated an online shop. It’s thanks to the hard work of the volunteers that only 10 per cent of the donations at the centre end up in landfill.
“Clothes that can’t be sold on are shredded and sold as filler for things like mattresses,” Sue explains.
PARKRUN VOLUNTEER
As much as Sue loves volunteering at the centre, you wouldn’t find her there on weekends. That’s because when Saturday rolls around, she is busy clocking up the miles running around the beautiful Hastings coast, pursuing her other voluntary project.
Sue has been a volunteer at popular community running event Parkrun for the past three years. Just before the pandemic hit our shores, she enrolled on a training programme to become a guide runner to help those who have a visual impairment.
“Before the pandemic, I’d join in the Parkrun every week. If I don’t take part as a participant, I’ll volunteer instead. “As a volunteer at the event, I pick a spot on the course to stand at in my high-vis, and I’ll clap and cheer as people jog past. “I love it; it is especially rewarding when you see brand-new faces and see them fall in love with Parkrun as much as I have. We even had an 80-year-old who completed her first Parkrun earlier this year.”
RUNNING GUIDE
It was a family member who inspired Sue to sign up to a course to become a guide runner, to help those who have visual impairments to take part in the Parkruns. “My brother’s wife is partially sighted, and I’d read about guides who assist those with visual impairments to run the Parkruns, in the paper. I really want to help those with sight loss to take part in Parkrun.
Sue, who rents out a portfolio of large family homes, believes it is important for everyone – not just landlords – to volunteer in their community if they are able to. “I absolutely love the volunteering I do; you are giving to someone else, but are benefitting mentally and physically as well. I believe if everyone who is able to did something to volunteer, the world would be a better place.
- Are you a landlord who volunteers in your community? If you'd be interested in sharing your story in our members' magazine, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via our social media channels, or email [email protected].
