Volunteers give community shop a new lease of life

Headley Community shop avoids closure

HEADLEY Community Shop has avoided closure, despite serious concerns over volunteer numbers earlier in the year, which resulted in the store being unable to open at least six times.

At the annual meeting in May, an ultimatum was given, outlining that the shop faced the risk of closure if no volunteers came forward.

Community shop chairwoman Carol-Anne Rhatigan said: “The feedback we got was very positive and following the meeting sales spiked briefly.

“No one wants the shop to shut.

“A couple of volunteers came forward and another committee member, so now there are five.

“This really takes the pressure off.”

While the shop is run entirely by volunteers, at the beginning of September it advertised for a paid supervisor to help with its day-to-day running.

Mrs Rhatigan said: “Hopefully we will get something from that.”

Loyal customer Wendy Karnehm said: “The community shop is amazing.

“The atmosphere is really good and it really is the centre of the village.

“The volunteers are very welcoming and go over and beyond to help everybody.”

Mrs Rhatigan said: “We still need more volunteers, but at the moment we are getting by.

“Next month may be tricky as there are a lot of holidays.”