Bathurst HopeCare businesses are in need of volunteers

HopeCare is responsible for the operation of The Junktion Bathurst, The Bargain Centre, and Hope Bathurst, which runs a community pantry and a free hot lunch service.

In recent months, more and more people have been forced to utilise these services due to the cost-of-living crisis, and with greater demand, comes a greater need for supply.

Many more volunteers are needed to cope with these ever-growing pressures.

There are plenty of jobs that can be done between the three stores, including driving a food van, sorting retail products, kitchen duties, and customer service.

And volunteers can have their pick of the bunch, and according to manager of the Bargain Centre, Cameron Love, volunteers can choose their own hours.

"We're only asking for four hours a week from anyone," he said.

"We've got morning shifts, we've got midday shifts, we've got afternoon shifts, so we are looking for a long list of people to call upon."

During his time working for The Bargain Centre, Mr Love has seen plenty of volunteers come and go, all with the same drive to assist the community.

And the work is more rewarding than they could imagine.

"They become part of the family, they treat this as a social interaction as much as a productive work time," he said.

"It's a good, fun environment. It's very active, we get a lot of customers coming through, there's good social interaction, and we try to make it a happy and safe place for everyone."

For those volunteering at The Bargain Centre, there are a multitude of roles that can be performed in the store.

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This includes receiving and sorting donations, customer service, stocking shelves, cleaning and rotating stock.

But there is also the added bonus of seeing the smiles on customers faces when they walk out with something they need, all for a very low price.

And, according to Mr Love, there are only two things expected from volunteers.

"One, to be polite and courteous at all times to all people ... and the second thing is just to turn up when they say they're going to," he said.

Management can handle the rest.

"We look after our volunteers as best as we can, we keep them safe, we keep them working short hours, and keep them happy so that they keep coming back," Mr Love said.

"We need to look after them, because the whole life blood of the organisation is volunteers."

For those interested in offering their time at either The Bargain Centre, The Junktion, or Hope Bathurst, application forms are downloadable online.

Forms can also be filled out in store, and staff or volunteer members are able to assist with the application process.

There is then an interview process where applicants will be recommended for a particular role in a particular site, and a roster will be completed.

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