“Whoever
said that money can’t buy happiness, simply didn’t know where to go shopping.”
Bo
Derek
I was once a Digital Volunteer with St Oswald’s Hospice for four years (with a few temporary contracts with their Communications and Marketing team throughout that time), when I spotted their new store just minutes from my home, I was almost instantly inspired to put together some content centred around it! Probably something which helped me to think of the idea so quickly was that I’m genuinely a huge fan of shopping too (as you may have seen in our Collaboration Teaser; which you can read here)! So, this is sort of a dream collaboration for me(!) and I really hope you like it just as much as I have enjoyed creating it…
How My
Connection To St Oswald’s Hospice Began…
When I first created, I’m NOT Disordered in 2013, I
had no real expectations or goals for blogging, it was just a way to
communicate with my friends and family who were over 100 miles away from the
psychiatric hospital in which I was an inpatient. Obviously, things have
massively changed – in every way imaginable – and it is through this growth and
development that my blog became a whole lot more important than I thought it
would, and I found myself discovering a real passion and interest in the
communications and marketing industry. So, I began looking into online
education and voluntary roles in the sector and in 2017 I started volunteering
as an Advertising Assistant for a support group and when I found myself
enjoying it so much that I was really eager to learn more, I applied for a
Digital Marketing Internship.
Whilst
the company I did my Internship with were an
education and academic recruitment firm and obviously had absolutely no real
connection to my passion and interest of mental health, I found myself really
appreciating that fact. It meant I was really dedicated and more focused on the
actual industrial experience I was gaining and everything I was being taught
about communications and marketing rather than it being emotional and personal.
It meant that from the Internship, I had learnt so much that when it was over (in
2019), I decided to apply to be a Digital Volunteer with St Oswald’s Hospice. I
liked the thought that it could be a bit of a balance in that I’d be gaining
that industrial experience and knowledge but, with them being an end-of-life
charity, I recognised that mental health might also come into my work with them.
So, loving the idea of being able to indulge in both of my largest interests
and passions in life, I was absolutely made up when I was successful in my chat
with their Communications and Marketing Team and secured a Volunteer position.
In all honesty, I’d had a few voluntary roles before
this, so I didn’t hold out too high expectations in terms of it lasting long or
me feeling really dedicated to it and enjoying it so much. All my previous
positions though, had been in charity retail stores – ironic considering this
collaboration! – so I think perhaps I hadn’t had a real interest or passion in
the industry and the responsibilities I held. Which was certainly something I (still)
have in communications and marketing! I think that some of the reasons for this
appeal have been that I have discovered and experienced the creativity that
goes into pretty much every single task allocated to literally any and every
job in the industry! But it wasn’t just the tasks and responsibilities that
kept me with St Oswald’s Hospice for four years(!), it was also the entire
Communications and Marketing team! They made me feel completely at ease and
comfortable in the Office and in working from home and doing online meetings when
the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic began. It meant a lot to have such
a supportive and kind and energetic team to work with through a really scary
and intimidating time.
Another, really important quality – to me – that
the entire Communications and Marketing team held, was a real lack of stigma
and an appreciation and respect for both mental health in general and for
mental illness – which I felt was perfectly illustrated and evidenced in me
having the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder at the time of my work
with them. I didn’t once feel singled out. I didn’t ever even feel
misunderstood – which would be completely understandable(!) especially for
staff of an organisation that doesn’t exactly specialise in mental health. The
team’s lack of judgment and continuity in their supportive and empathetic
attitude was a hugely important factor that really aided in me staying with the
charity for so long.
There was an instance in particular where I felt
this was perfectly shown; it was during a virtual Team meeting and I had a lot
going on in my personal life at the time and as hard as I tried to keep it
separate from my work, I struggled to do so in that meeting. After the meeting,
the lovely Head of Communications and Marketing; Steph, called me and said that
everyone had noticed that I hadn’t been myself and she wanted to check in and
see if I was ok and if there was anything she and the rest of the Team could do
to help. It left me feeling seriously appreciated, respected, supported, and
incredibly honoured that these staff who have so many responsibilities and had so
many tasks to complete, put everything aside to prioritise helping the mental
health of a team member.
Needless to say, this very memorable experience
played a huge factor in my desire, passion, and dedication to do this
collaboration with St Oswald’s Hospice and to make it into the best piece of
content I can. If you want to find out more about the thought process and
behind-the-scenes planning of the collaboration, St Oswald’s Hospice and I actually
put together a two-part piece of content detailing the creation of our
Collaboration Brief; and you can read part one here
and part two here.
Tackling The Stigma
I don’t want for the fact this piece is a
collaboration, to change or alter my honesty and values in my blogging and
content creation so, whilst it feels slightly uncomfortable to say this, I won’t
lie; prior to my first retail voluntary role in a local charity store in around
2009, I was absolutely full of pre-conceived notions against shopping in
charity stores. After around four roles in different stores for different
organisations, I actually bought my first item from a charity store – a pair of
seemingly unused low-heeled shoes! I absolutely loved them and couldn’t believe
the price (even before my staff discount!). Price, I think, is one of the
reasons why charity stores have a stigma; because so many people just imagine
everything is a few pence and that if it’s so ‘cheap’ then surely that illustrates
that the items aren’t of a very good quality or aren’t from a widely known
brand.
Something I’ve come to realise over recent years
though, is that yes, in some stores and with some brands or companies, you get
what you pay for, but charity stores are massively exempt from this typical,
retail rule. Their items are donated, so it isn’t as though they’ve bought in
the products and therefore need to make a profit in the same way as other,
private retailers. They also recognise just how far the money/price of items
can go, both in terms of helping their cause and in encouraging customers to make
purchases in their store.
I think that the shoes I bought years ago, were actually
really helpful in changing a lot of people’s pre-conceived thoughts too. So, when
friends and family would complement me on them – yes, they were THOSE type of
shoes; the ones everyone notices! – and I’d tell them where they were from
there was shock, but also intrigue and curiosity. Unlike other retail stores
where you can bump into people wearing the same exact item of clothing as you,
I knew that no matter how many people asked where I’d bought the shoes from, no
one would be able to copy! They were special, one-of-a-kind – something which –
ironically – is typically a very expensive quality to find in a fashion item;
yet I’d achieved it for less than £5!
Another stigma I’d like to quickly tackle here too, is that which is around shopping in a more general sense. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people deem ‘going shopping’ to be frivolous, superficial, and – often – simply, a bad idea! So, here are some tips for your next shopping trip which you can edit to suit you and the reason why you’re going shopping:
1) Lists:
My Mum is very encouraging and basically a walking advertisement for having
lists when you go shopping. She uses pen and paper and then tears off the ones
she’s bought as she goes, but me being a technology fan; if I’m going to do a
list – which I really only do for visiting the shops in a support session
because I know that’s when I’m most likely to get distracted and forget why I’m
there! – I type it into the ‘Notes’ app on my phone and then delete them as I
purchase. I actually find lists – especially to-do lists– really therapeutic
because it feels so pleasing and it’s almost like an achievement when you can
tick things off or cross them out! I think my tip here; is to always have a
list when you go shopping because what harm can it do? Yes, you might forget
you’ve written one if you usually don’t, but it’s something you could get used
to and something which you might find so beneficial and calming. Knowing that
you have a list of everything you need to get could help you feel more relaxed
and be more able to actually enjoy the shopping trip because you aren’t
stressed at the thought of trying to remember everything and worrying that you’ll
forget something important. It might also help with budgeting because seeing
everything written down together could help you better calculate or predict the
overall cost of the shopping trip and that might not happen if you’re just putting
things in the basket as you go.
2) Companion: Having just mentioned how being with a Recovery Worker when I go shopping can end up being distracting and I often forget why I’m even there(!), I thought I’d touch on this point about having a companion when you go shopping. So, there is the point about feeling caught up in a conversation and this chat can be especially important when you’re actually on a mental health support session too – for me, I hate going out by myself, but I can’t go to the shops with my Recovery Workers and not talk to them… I actually get the same thoughts and feelings going shopping with my Mum and friends too in feeling like I want to talk but being anxious that will mean I forget something. Another difficult aspect to having a companion when you go shopping is feeling a sense of pressure – pressure to not take forever looking at things, pressure to look at things your companion would like too, pressure not to spend too much money on your shopping trip. It can also make things awkward and embarrassing when it comes to needing to buy personal items – including underwear – and I’ve struggled to look at clothing in my size because a lot of my friends are smaller than me and sometimes we have different taste in fashion. I’ve personally discovered that the majority of the shops I’m ok going with someone but there are two huge retail stores that I much prefer to go to alone because I feel like then I can really take my time to have a proper browse and to really enjoy looking at everything. This also allows me the opportunity to really take care of my energy levels which is something that – I don’t think I’m alone in believing – is really essential in a shopping trip because if you’re too tired, you’ll likely have no motivation to take the time to ensure you have everything you need and/or want.
My Purchases
I bought quite a few items on my shopping trip to St Oswald’s Hospice new store in Blyth (the details of which can be found at the end of the blog post), here’s some photos of them, where I’ve placed them in my home, and a quick sentence or two about each of them:
1. The Alice in Wonderland Mug
This was actually the first piece I spotted, and I actually couldn’t believe my luck! You may not know, but I have a huge obsession for Alice in Wonderland because I used to read the book all the time in hospital as a way of escaping and I loved the level of imagination it must have taken to write a story like that! I really liked that there were absolutely no chips or dents, and the print wasn’t faded or cracked.
2. The Flamingo Candle Holder
I liked this little Candle Holder that is shaped like a pink Flamingo because I have some kind of quirky, animal-shaped items in my sitting room – in particular, a Sloth-shaped plant pot (by Sass and Belle)! So I knew it would fit in well in that room and pictured putting it on the bookshelf – which is where it is in the photo below (yes, I shamelessly placed it between the two books I’ve written!). Again, I liked that this item was in no way damaged or of a poor condition – the colours don’t even seem to be faded!
3. The Three Books
I bought three books: one being a fiction book called Final Girls – which I’d actually bought (for a much larger price) from a store previously but my bunnies have chewed through it, and I still wanted to read it! So that was a perfect find amongst the millions of books the store had to offer! I also bought two sort of advice centred books from the same series; named: How To Live A Confident Life and How To Live A Happy Life. I plan to write a proper review in separate posts of each book once they’re read so keep an eye out for them(!) but I’d also like to add that none of the three books were stained, marked, torn, and nor did they have any sort of musky smell like old books usually get!
4. Sudoku Book
I actually can’t wait to have time to use this! It’s a wipe-able and therefore reusable book of Sudoku puzzles and it might seem sad, but I’ve honestly never seen or heard of anything like it! It’s a brilliant concept and idea though because it means you can pass them on to others and it won’t be a bit of a wasted puzzle book that is used once and is then thrown out! Again, there were no creases in the thick cardboard ‘pages’ and each of the puzzles were wiped completely clean so it was in brilliant condition.
5. The False Flower & Vase
I spotted this false pink flower in the turquoise semi-transparent glass vase from a distance and straightaway I knew it would also go in my sitting room because it is so well coordinated with the feature wall in that room (you can actually see it slightly through the gaps in the items in the photo below!). Aside from the glass vase not being chipped or cracked, I was also really happy with the flowers and how they weren’t dusty, their colour wasn’t faded, and the little ‘petals’ were in such good condition too! It’s a lovely little addition to the sitting room that kind of picks out that feature wall colour and brings it forward around the room simply.
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I had in creating it for you all! I hope it encourages you to visit St Oswald’s Hospice’s charity shops if you live in the North East - – particularly their Blyth one(!). If you’d like to find out more about the charity and the amazing and incredible work their staff and volunteers, do you can find out more here. If you don’t live in the North East maybe this blog will inspire you to visit your local charity shop and see what lovely bits you can find!
All The Links You Need:
Website: Home | St Oswald’s Hospice (stoswaldsuk.org)
Twitter (X): @stoswaldsuk
Facebook: @stoswaldshospice
Instagram: @stoswaldsuk
Retail Instagram: @stoswaldsretail
YouTube: @stoswaldshospiceuk
LinkedIn: @stoswaldshospice
General Details for the Blyth Store:
Blyth | St Oswald’s Hospice (stoswaldsuk.org)
To Volunteer At The Store:
Email: volunteer@stoswaldsuk.org or call the store direct: 01670 330 885
Don’t live in Blyth? Find your local St Oswald’s Hospice Store:
High Street Shops | St Oswald’s Hospice (stoswaldsuk.org)