Sudbury charity shop worker celebrates a decade supporting East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices

A volunteer worker is celebrating a decade working at a Sudbury charity shop.

Maureen Henderson, 74, spends two afternoons a week at in the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) store in North Street.

Maureen joined shortly after the shop opened in July 2014.

She later joined by husband, Roy, in 2016.

“I’m proud to have been volunteering here for nearly ten years,” said Maureen, who lives in Great Cornard.

“It’s flown by but something I’ve always enjoyed and felt strongly about.

“I started out because my granddaughter used to help here after school.

“It sounded enjoyable and when I said I might be interested, she said ‘you’ll love it, nan’. She was right.

“I liked it from the beginning and started making new friends straight away.

“I enjoy being around people and I’m always recommending it to others.

“People think it’s a massive commitment but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

In her working life, Maureen trained as a nanny with Barnardo’s and became a childminder.

She also has three children, nine grandchildren and a great-grandson – and spends her spare time knitting blankets, hats and cardigans for babies at West Suffolk Hospital.

“I’ve always loved children, so perhaps it was written in the stars that I’d do something like this one day,” she said.

“I don’t have a personal connection to EACH, although I know families that have received support at The Treehouse, a five bedroom accommodation in Suffolk for children, young people and families to use for overnight stays.

Roy, 75, volunteers around his work as a painter-decorator and ‘loves’ serving customers on the till.

To find out more about volunteering in Sudbury, email Bev.Williams@each.org.uk or call 01787 379132.