My Volunteer Experience

Each year there are millions of people who kindly give up their time to volunteer, helping charities across the UK. Volunteers' Week returns this year on 1-7 June and The Air Ambulance Service is taking the opportunity to say a big thank you to all of their volunteers for the valuable contribution they make, and to celebrate the amazing work that they do to help the Charity.

In My Spare Time....

What do you do in your spare time? Do you watch television? Play sports? Shop to you drop? Garry Froggatt, one of our esteemed volunteers, has written a poem about what he does in his spare time and we're sure you'll agree it's incredibly motivating and inspiring! To follow in Garry's footsteps and volunteer for The Air Ambulance Service in your spare time, please get in touch!

In My Spare Time

Wherever you are, wherever you may be,
You may be knocked down or crash into a tree,
You may fall off a horse,
Or wander off course,
But our helicopter will be there for thee.

Now flying one of these, isn’t cheap,
To help you get back on your feet,
So whilst you’re drinking your brew
Just think about our crew
Who’s rushing to their need.

But spare a thought about the money
That needs to be raised, whether rainy or sunny.
I can’t do tricks
And I’m rubbish at limericks,
And not very good at being funny

But in my spare time, I’ll run a stall
Selling pencils n pens, in a hall.
Your spare cash, you can chuck it
In my collection tin, or bucket
And make a difference, however small.

What is vintage?

Here at The Air Ambulance Service, we pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of what we do - and we apply this to our ever expanding retail department. From our Air Ambulance coffee shop, Landing Pad, to our Air Ambulance couture store in Solihull, we pride ourselves on offering people fantastic quality products at a low price - and all while helping to raise money to save lives. Excitingly for you fashionistas out there, we're now also expanding into vintage. For those not so up with fashion, one of our volunteers has kindly written a blog piece about vintage fashion, enjoy!

Vintage fashion is huge. More and more vintage shops are popping up all over the high street to meet the demands of people wanting clothing that is different from the mainstream but without a hefty price tag.

Vintage is all about reliving the fabulous trends of the past but updating them so they still fit in with contemporary fashion. Some garments may seem ugly to one person but be treasure to someone else – that’s just how fashion is sometimes.

It’s not all about old fashioned clothes. Take florals for example: vintage is full of ditsy little flowers right up to big bold blooms. In any high street shop, almost any season, florals will be the main prints on show. They’re nearly always at the height of fashion so vintage can offer a wide range of floral items as an alternative to the high street.

Vintage also offers a range of classic items such as fur coats. Brand new fur coats can cost loads of money so having the choice of buying the more affordable vintage fur coats is great.

Fashion trends are always being revived too. Moschino’s spring summer 2013 collection was heavily inspired by the 60s: the collection featured simple block designs in striking contrast colours. Original 60s vintage sales will have increased because of the revival of this trend so it’s always worth keeping vintage items from different decades as chances are they’ll be back in fashion again soon.

Think of vintage as having the individual exclusivity of designer clothing but without the substantial price tag – this is probably the main reason why it’s become such a massive industry. People are beginning to break out of the conformity shell and are looking for ways to express their individuality through clothing. Vintage has well and truly stepped up and will hopefully continue to be awesome for a long time to come.
If you have an eye for vintage and an interest in fashion, why not become one of our volunteers? We're always on the look out for people to join our team so get in touch now.

Volunteer Vacancy: Warehouse Manager

Today we're featuring the volunteer vacany of Warehouse Manager.

Our new Warehouse Manager will be responsible for distriubuting and weighing stock, organising the warehouse, health and safety management, and assisting the stock controllers.

So if you're physically strong and a dab hand at DIY then please get in touch as you may be just the person we're looking for to help us at our Retail HQ.

And what could be more rewarding than using your skills to help a charity that saves countless lives across the local counties every year?

Call 08454 130 999 for more information or attend our Retail HQ Open Day this Saturday.

Volunteer Vacancy: eBay Administrator

Are you looking to forge a career in retail? Do you know your vintage from your High Street? Or maybe you're just looking to help a great cause? If so, we have just the volunteer role for you! This week on our blog we will be featuring a some of the exciting new volunteer posts that are available at our Retail HQ in Kegworth.

eBay Administrator

The first volunteer role we'll be featuring this week is that of eBay Administrator. If you know your way around the Internet auction site and want to use your computer skills for a good cause then this is the post for you.

As an eBay administrator you will....

·        Photograph items, researching them on the internet, and listing them online

·         Package items and arrange for them to be sent to customers

·         Analyse the items that haven’t sold, re-listing them and looking at alternative ways to make money from them 

Skills needed: You'll be an organised individual with strong computer skills as well as an interest in general office work and of course a passion for the Charity!



The Retail team at Kegworth

If you like what you see and want to learn more, then please do give us a call on 08454 130 999 - our crew need your support so that they can keep doing their lifesaving work!