Borders Pet Rescue is a small non-profit, registered charity in the Scottish Borders dedicated to the care and re-homing of dogs, cats and small animals. The animal centre is based in Earlston. We have four shops in Duns Kelso, Hawick and Galashiels. We rely on their income to continue the work that we do. Our shop volunteers are the first point of contact for customers when they enter our shops. You will be meeting and greeting all of our lovely customers with a smile, providing assistance and ultimately helping to increase sales and donations. You may even have to say “hello” to some of their four-legged friends! All necessary training will be given. Or, you may prefer to stay behind the scenes and help sort through the donations we receive, steam the clothing and wash bric-a-brac. You may be the lucky volunteer who finds that real antique or heirloom! You can help with window and shop displays, ensuring the shelves are stocked making the shop look appealing. This may include doing some dusting and hoovering to keep it fresh. This list is not exhaustive though. We just need lots of enthusiastic and reliable people - with knowledge to share and/or a desire to learn new skill.

Serve the public, maintain cleanliness of shop, stock rotation.

Volunteers help ensure the shop is tidy and attractive; you can use your creativity to make eye-catching window displays, sorting and replacing stock to keep the shop looking fresh and stylish. Incoming donations are organised and labelled, and clothes steamed and tagged. Our polite, approachable volunteers assist customers; welcoming them through the door, ringing purchases through the cash register and encouraging signing up to the Gift Aid scheme. A bonus of volunteering in this role is having access to great quality items at reasonable prices, as soon as they hit the shop floor! In the shop volunteer role you will develop your understanding of stock management, marketing and customer service. These skills are valuable for personal development as well as very relevant to careers in retail, advertising and business. You will have the opportunity to meet lots of people, play an active role in your community and make friends.

We would love you to join / drop into our small friendly team of 2-4 people, sorting donations of clothes into what are good enough to sell online and what can go to jumble sale. Some people like ironing and steaming clothes; some people are good at describing clothes and photographing them. You may have had previous experience of the online sales platform 'Vinted'. It is easy to use and it is fun to get things uploaded. When customers buy things online there is the task of printing pre-paid postage labels and packaging up the items. This volunteering opportunity is nice because it is sociable, fun, you get to chat to others as you work and you can discover unusual items and bargains. Volunteers get discounted clothes. You will also be helping our local community generate funds to spend on community projects - so you will be helping the community as a whole.