A CHILDREN’S charity has praised its volunteers after they donated almost 18,500 hours to its stores last year.

Last year 329 people offered a combined total of 18,445 hours to Barnado’s stores in Barrhead, Greenock, Newton Mearns and Linwood checking, steaming and labelling stock and keeping the tills ringing. 

The charity is highlighting the importance of local support from its volunteers this week for Volunteers Week, which began on Saturday and ends on Friday.

Barnardo’s Scotland’s volunteering adviser, Alison McLaughlin, said: “Our local stores play a vital role in raising much-needed funds to maintain our work across Scotland.

“Some volunteers come in for just an hour each week, others for much longer, but every effort is sincerely appreciated.”

Across Scotland, nearly 3,500 people offered a combined total of more than 361,770 hours. 

But the charity’s stores still need more support to help transform the lives of the country’s most vulnerable children.

Volunteers can choose from a wide variety of roles from helping behind the scenes by recycling, sorting and pricing the donations and steaming the clothes, to helping on the shop-floor by arranging window displays, styling mannequins or serving customers.

Alison added: “Volunteering provides immense personal satisfaction and is available to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

“It’s a great way to make new friends and learn new skills.”

Read more from the Barrhead News