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Cathryn
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gregotyn
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gil
Downsizer Moderator
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marigold
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Location: West Sussex
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Luath
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derbyshiredowser
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
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Cathryn
Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion
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 Posted: Wed Jan 29, 14 7:22 pm Post subject: |
 
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I have just spent the afternoon with a group of volunteers rearranging the bookshop. Nothing major although I would love some new display stuff because Oxfam keeps it's admin costs down to 15% and we are a part of making sure that it stays that low.
I live and work locally for Oxfam. We take donations of books, music, lots of interesting things, a high proportion of which are donated by people to Oxfam because they believe in the work that Oxfam does across the world. I have a duty to them to sell their donated items for a reasonable sum. I have a duty to the people that Oxfam help to make as much as I can from these goods. Oxfam has a minimum pricing policy and then it is up to me as the manager to set what I consider a reasonable price. As I said, I live locally, I have a background in bookselling so I know what I'm doing (mostly) and I know my market. Over the last year both sales and donations have increased, if they had fallen I would think again.
I have a good financially useful relationship with the second hand bookshop in town and with several other dealers over quite a wide area.
I am the only paid member of staff. I work with volunteers of all kinds, some need to add layers to their cv. I make sure they can add useful skills. Everyone is encouraged to do as much as they can in the shop and there are virtually no exceptions to this.
The work we do in the shop supports me and a great many other individuals across the world. This is measurable in a rough kind of way. I did a sum as a way of thanking the volunteers for their work that covered just three months. It's a bit rough and ready but you can get the gist of it.
"Once upon a time�
�fifty families were just about hanging on, scratching a living from an arid bit of land�and then you all came along, Oxfam volunteers, sorting, pricing, selling all the books and music. Turning all the great donations into money! (Thank you all you wonderful donors!)
Thanks to you giving your time you provided :
Safe water for all five hundred people - �500
Each family planted an allotment - �1200
Their farming skills were improved and the village now has:
Twenty goats - �500
Ten sheep - �250
Lots of chickens - �200
Two people even trained to be beekeepers - �25
You provided the village with green energy three solar panels
- �100
All the children in the village had a health check - �2400
and mosquito nets were provided for them all - �2800
Then you trained four teachers - �108
Provided school kits for two hundred children - �1600
You sorted out a clean water supply and explained the importance of health and hygiene for their wonderful school - �1,670
And there was still �1000 spare! That built 25 emergency toilets for the Philippines or if you want to look at it another way you helped set up 25 cocoa farmers and 25 tea growers that now nearly manage to provide the shop with our tea and biscuits!
And that�s just in three months! You�re amazing, thank you!" |
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
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sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Location: North Devon
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Cathryn
Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15981
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madcat
Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 1265
Location: worcester
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
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Cathryn
Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46233
Location: yes
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