Down Town, Burnley Together’s venue on Charter Walk, provides vital support for people through its grocery, café and re-loved uniform shop… It also offers the perfect place for volunteers to gain work experience, further their skills and make a real difference to the communities they serve.
Nicola Larnach, Burnley Together Co-ordinator, said: “We have nine active volunteers at the moment. Our volunteers have gone on to get jobs in different sectors, including cleaning and admin roles”.
She added: “Volunteers are an integral part of the Burnley Together team, their support with the retail area is very valuable. Their role includes sorting and washing donations, restocking the retail area, supporting with food parcel requests – all whilst assisting and communicating with customers”.
Meet Michael, one of Burnley Together’s dedicated volunteers
Michael Haworth is one of nine active volunteers at Burnley Together right now. The 25-year-old has been part of the team since March 2024, after joining to help build his confidence and communication skills.
Now 18 months into his volunteering journey, Michael loves the customer service side of his role. He enjoys nothing more than spending his time working on the front desk and getting to know regular customers. “We know all their names”, he said. “Whenever they come in, we always pick up where we left off”.
Talking about his days at Down Town, Michael said: “I like helping people, it’s one thing I love to do. There have been so many times that I’ve helped people coming in here – and seeing them happy brings me so much joy”.
As well as customer service tasks, Michael enjoys getting stuck into graphic design tasks, such as making event posters on Canva. In his spare time, he loves getting creative with digital design, so loves the opportunity to bring his skills in-house.
He continued: “When I started, they said no two days would be the same and they were right. As well as becoming more confident in talking to new people, I’ve learned loads about customer service, stats, design and data too”.
Micheal is also a self-confessed TV lover. From Celebrity Big Brother to Eurovision and sci-fi classics like Dr Who, Michael loves the opportunity to chat to regulars about the small screen.
The 25-year-old added: “A guy used to come in every week, and we’d chat for ages about Dr Who – we were both huge fans, talking to him was often the highlight of my week”.
What volunteering means to Michael
Like many people who choose to volunteer, Michael has struggled to break into the world of work – but thanks to the experience and skills he’s learned from his time at Burnley Together, he’s now actively applying and interviewing for his dream role in customer service.
Michael explained: “The job market is so hard at the moment, and if there’s nothing on your CV it can be even harder. Burnley Together has given me the experience and skills to put on my CV, so I feel like my job hunt is going to be successful soon”.
The reality TV enthusiast added: “Volunteering is also great for my mental health. It distracts me from everything going on in the world and keeps me busy – it gets me out of the house and away from daytime TV!”.
He concluded: We might not get paid, but we get experience, skills, friends and memories. It’s so worth it”.
If you’re interested in volunteering at Burnley Together, please visit calico.org.uk/volunteering/ or contact rajackson@calico.org.uk