Meet our Volunteer – Parminder’s Story
What inspired you to contact The Brick about volunteering opportunities?
It offers services to people who are experiencing homelessness, in poverty or facing debt crisis. The Brick operates statutory tendered projects offering support to people in their tenancies; ensuring people newly homeless move quickly into accommodation and ensuring that homeless people receive good health care and support.
What’s your previous experience of volunteering?
I have volunteered at the British Heart Foundation. My role was meeting customer needs as well as giving quality customer service, collection and exchanging of money using till system, prepping the store before opening and cleaning the store when closing also restocking produce throughout the day. Working within a team has helped in the development of many skills and I am grateful for the opportunity working with The British Heart Foundation has provided me.
Are you employed? Retired? Student? In between Jobs? Unable to work?
I am a student studying Business Management at Edge Hill University and I also work part time over the weekends in Primark, Liverpool.
What do you hope to get from volunteering at The Brick?
Volunteering at The Brick will help to gain knowledge and experience working in multiple parts of the project. After my placement has finished, I plan to continue volunteering one day a week to help towards reaching the goal of decreasing homelessness and helping those in need in Wigan.
What area of The Brick would you like to or have started volunteering in and why?
I would like to volunteer in The Brick shop, The Brick re-use and The Brick giving.
The Brick Project offers a huge range of services to people who are homeless, in poverty or facing debt crisis. This includes Crisis Intervention, Hospital to Home, Asset Coaching and Wigan’s largest Foodbank. As its name suggests, it provides a safe, solid building block for people in crisis to begin rebuilding their lives.
The Brick Shop is a charity shop selling donated goods, often to people on low incomes. The shop gives clothes free of charge to people referred by Wigan Council. The shop is one of the main hubs within its community.
The Brick Works offers training to increase the employment opportunities for people who are unemployed for a variety of reasons. This may include homelessness or recently housed people referred.
The Brick Giving aims to put an end to poverty and homelessness in Wigan and Leigh. Our #BrickbyBrick campaign is working to raise £175,000 to purchase The Brick Works and make sure no one in our community is left behind.
The Brick Re-Use has been set up to help educate people in the Wigan Borough about recycling and re-use. We also turn unwanted goods into lovingly restored furniture for families in need.
