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New storage for Oxfam online store

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When Jenna Shorter answered an advert to volunteer at the Lymington Oxfam shop, she expected to be working the till and helping customers.

 

But after deputy manager, Martha Medina showed her Oxfam’s second hand on-line store run from the back of the shop, the new volunteer was convinced this was where she could make a difference.

 

Alongside other volunteers, Jenna picks out some of the best donations and markets them to a wider online audience via the internet.

 

A year on, sales are soaring and Jenna’s ongoing commitment has been marked by a £750 grant from her husband’s company, Esso and ExxonMobil at Fawley.

 

The money has been used by Oxfam for a new storage system at the back of the Lymington store, specifically for goods waiting to be dispatched to online buyers.

 

The grant has been made in recognition of the time and effort Jenna has put into volunteering with the charity.

 

The ExxonMobil scheme not only helps local organisations, but also improves the links between ExxonMobil and the local community.

 

The grant applicant was Jenna’s husband Jonathan Shorter, who works in the Supply Department at Fawley.

 

Jenna said: “Each month we saw online sales increasing which was great but we were struggling to keep up with demand because our storage system just wasn’t up to the job.

 

We were using old boxes donated by a local supermarket for storage and that could involve two of us moving heavy boxes in a search for the items we needed.

 

The new system has pull out baskets which are better for us and for the goods involved.”

 

Deputy manager at Oxfam in Lymington, Martha Medina said: “The new storage baskets keep everything in good condition, so they are good for the customers as well as the volunteers.

 

Oxfam is the first charity to offer this popular service as a way for people to buy on-line and help families in poverty.

 

Since we started the service from Lymington just over a year ago, sales have definitely taken off. We are part of a wider network of more than fifty Oxfam shops.

 

To find out more about us and see the range of goods on offer, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/”

 

The ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement Programme at Fawley, together with its sister scheme for school governors, has so far contributed more than £462,000 to local community projects, since it was started six years ago.

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