Introducing Paddy – Charity Shop Assistant

Hi Paddy, could you start off by explaining what you do at The Door

Sure, I am a member of staff in The Door Shop, which involves running the shop, looking after the till and making sure that our customers and volunteers are all ok.

And how did you end up working for The Door?

It’s quite simple really, I did my work experience here in 2015 then kept volunteering in the shop after that. I became a member of staff in 2023.

You must enjoy it then! What’s your favourite part of the role?

I’m happy anywhere in the shop really, out the front on the till or out the back, I’ll just be doing whatever needs doing. If I had to pick one thing… Ok, it’s oddly specific but I LOVE unwrapping donations, especially when they have been carefully packed in bubble wrap!

Who doesn’t love a bit of bubble wrap?

Exactly.

So what does a normal day look like in the life of The Door Shop team?

We usually start off by checking the shop floor to see what needs to be done that day, if there’s any gaps left from the day before or shelves that need tidying.

Then I tend to make a list and work my way through it. Part of my role includes selling some of our rarer or more luxury items on ebay or vinted so I like to check on how things are doing online too.

And what can make a day more challenging?

No day in the shop seems to be the same so we are used to adapting, but if we get a particularly large number of donations or our volunteer rota is a bit slim then it can be more difficult.

Speaking of volunteering, don’t you have another role at The Door?

I do, I also volunteer as a mentor and I support a young person once a week. We meet in the office and use the xbox to play games while we talk, it’s going really well so far.

That’s great to hear.

So now we have the more sensible questions out of the way, how about some more fun ones?

Okay…

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be and why?

Oh don’t make me choose! I think pasta, because you can do so much with it and make it a different way each time. Although is that sort of cheating the question?

Well it’s certainly thinking outside the box, in that case, what is your favourite pasta dish?

I’ve been making a lemon pasta one a lot lately so probably that one.

Great, how about sport?

Oh no! I have never been a sportsperson ever. I even dropped our of PE at School.

Fair enough, and finally do you have a quote you would like to share?

I think this one “Why be a wallflower when you can be a venus fly trap?” it even inspired my most recent tattoo.