Joy's Story

I moved from Hong Kong where I curated a design gallery, to London where I have been living for the past few months. I’m interested in design and fashion and wanted to start my life in London with some volunteer work, to make connections and get some experience which will help me towards my ambition of starting an online fashion business.

I looked at a lot of charities which sell apparel, but was struck by the way that Crisis retail stores use interesting donations and window displays to make them attractive shops, not just regular charity shops. And out of all of the volunteering roles, the unique opportunity to be a part of the online business and volunteer from the ‘Ecommerce Hub’ stood out.

The recruitment process helped too. After submitting the application, the super friendly team were quick to reply, and I was able to immerse myself in the role and start volunteering from my first day. I love the hands-on nature of my volunteering, and the chance to try out different things, learning new things every day. Volunteering at Crisis is helping me to integrate to life here and meet people on a regular basis. I can meet and work with fellow volunteers with different backgrounds and different motivations, which has widened my experience. The network of people and vibe of the hub makes me feel like I’m part of a family; like I belong.

I have been able to learn how the E-commerce business works behind the scenes. The hands-on tasks, such as steaming, sorting labels, photographing, listing garments on eBay, packing, and sending off orders, will all be relevant to the business I want to run. I’m looking forward to learning how to use Shopify too. The team have facilitated my desire to learn more about the business, giving me opportunities to try out different things and become well-rounded in my skill set. It’s like going to classes.

I have always wanted to help whenever I can. For me, it’s perfect that this role benefits both myself and people experiencing homelessness. Even if it’s just doing something as simple as sorting clothes, it’s indirectly generating the money that’s needed to provide food or shelter, and it makes me feel great.