Graham presents Linda Baillie with her award.
I recently had the pleasure of popping into the Airdrie branch of the British Heart Foundation to surprise one of their volunteers.
I was delighted to be asked to present Linda Baillie with her award for 15 years service by branch manager Joyce Watt after spending time seeing the work being done by Linda and the other 28 volunteers who man the shop six days a week.
Unfortunately one of the other volunteers Margaret McAteer wasn’t in or she would have received her 10 years’ service award too.
With Christmas around the corner, Joyce explained she would love the people of Airdrie to have a rummage through their wardrobes and cupboards to see if they have anything the charity could sell in the run-up to the festive season.
Joyce explained how important the shop is to the local community of Airdrie and also the charity itself which benefits from the money raised to fight the devastating effects of heart disease.
She showed me the hard work her unpaid army of volunteers has to do before anything actually makes it onto the shop floor for sale.
All clothing is steam-cleaned and all games and books are examined to see if they are of a high enough quality to sell. Joyce pointed out there are bargains to be had, showing me some designer labels selling for £40 that would cost over a £100 on the high street.
They even had an original Elvis album handed in that will be sold on the charity’s eBay site with all the money returning to the Airdrie charity.
With Christmas just weeks away, Joyce would love the local community to have a look and see if they have anything they think the shop could sell. She explained that they offer a free collection service from your house.
All you have to do is ring this number 01236 768915 and they will organise collecting or you could pick up one of their free bags from the shop, fill it up and ring the number for collection. It’s that simple.
Also, if you are interested in finding out about the many different ways you can help, either pop in and see Joyce in person or look on the British Heart Foundation website for more information.”
Linda Baillie and shop manager Joyce Watt.
