On Monday 10th August, ten members of the Millbrook Medical Conferences team swapped their desks for donation bags, heading to the LOROS warehouse in Glenfield to spend the day volunteering in support of the hospice’s vital work.

Split across two half-day shifts — four in the morning and six in the afternoon — the team got a first-hand look at just how much goes on behind the scenes to keep LOROS’s retail operation running. Tasks for the day included clearing Halloween stock out of storage ready for the shop floor as the season approaches, working through bags of clothing donations and sorting them into categories such as women’s winter and summer wear, menswear and children’s clothing, and separating out games and puzzles by type.

Even items that aren’t suitable for sale still play a part: LOROS weighs unsellable clothing for “rag” collection, meaning every donation generates some value for the charity, whether it ends up on a shop rail or not. Items that can’t go into shops are also passed on to local homelessness charities, and nothing goes to waste — even empty donation bags are recycled or reused. The team was also struck by the warehouse’s dedicated electronics station, where donated items are tested and PAT-tested before resale, and by the sheer scale of the operation, run largely by volunteers.

Among the donations, the team came across everything from the everyday to the wonderfully unexpected — items that will now find new homes thanks to LOROS’s work. A few team members couldn’t resist grabbing first dibs themselves, picking up a handful of donated pieces to buy and take home, some still with their original tags attached.

Mandy, the warehouse manager, was on hand throughout the day and explained just how timely the extra help was: the warehouse was nearing capacity, and when that happens, LOROS sometimes has no choice but to pause donations until enough has been sorted through to free up space. That’s something they try hard to avoid wherever possible, as the sheer volume that comes in can be more than the volunteers on site can keep up with alone. Thanks to the Millbrook team’s support that day, LOROS is able to keep donations open for a little longer.

LOROS has faced significant financial challenges recently, and its work has touched the lives of several members of the Millbrook team closely. It was for that reason the team was keen to give up some of their working day to help, and after seeing just how much goes on behind the scenes, they’re already looking forward to going back, now that they know the ropes.

The warehouse day is just the start of Millbrook’s support for LOROS this year. Three team members have signed up to take on the Leicestershire Round Bike Ride on 5th September, tackling the 50-mile route in aid of the hospice, while colleagues who aren’t riding have offered to volunteer on the day instead, supporting the event however they’re needed.

Thank you to everyone at the LOROS Glenfield site for such a warm and welcoming day, and for the reminder that behind every donated bag of clothes, there’s a real person on the receiving end.

Find out more about LOROS’s work, or get in touch about volunteering opportunities, at https://loros.co.uk/