ARDGOWAN Hospice bosses face a major volunteer shortage which could force them to close their vital charity shops or cut opening hours.

The much-loved Inverclyde charity has today issued an urgent plea for locals who can spare the time to pitch in and help them keep crucial cash coming in from their retail stores.

The hospice says it is also in need of drivers for its patient transport service, which helps ferry people to and from their hospital appointments.

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Adrian Hunter, one of the hospice’s retail supervisors, told the Telegraph that the charity shops play a key role in the running of the hospice.

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Adrian said: “We’re really short of volunteers at the moment.

“We probably need a good three or four volunteers per shop.

“We need more than one person in the shop for them to be able to open properly and safely.

“It’s difficult to keep the shops open if we don’t have enough people to have that requisite number in there.

“It will put us in a very difficult position if we can’t get enough people in.

“The shops are critical to the fundraising for the hospice and also for getting the hospice name out there in the community, on the high street and in people’s minds.”

Adrian has recently been involved in setting up the hospice’s newly opened bookshop on Kempock Street in Gourock and says he has already seen the terrific impact the new store has had.

He told the Tele: “Since we’ve opened the bookshop the feedback we’ve had is that people are delighted to have a place like this.

“It’s fair to say that if we weren’t able to open there would be a lot of people who would be upset by it.

“If we’re not open and somebody comes down with donations then we’ll miss out on those, and that’s what drives retail, drives our sales and ultimately goes to fund the hospice.

“We’re looking for people who can cover shifts in all of our shops all over Inverclyde, from Kilmacolm to Port Glasgow to Greenock and the shops in Gourock.

“Our opening hours are generally between 10 and four and we split the shifts into ten til one and one til three, Monday to Saturday.

“If anyone can spare a little bit of time, even just three hours, one day a week or whatever they feel they can do it would be really good.”

Margaret McDonnell, who volunteers at the hospice's newly opened bookshop, says that working with the good cause is an incredibly rewarding experience. 

She said: “I like giving back to the hospice. Cancer will affect all of us or someone we know so it’s a great cause to help out.

“If I can do one small bit to help then I’m happy with that.”

In a statement the hospice said: “We are currently struggling to keep our shops open due to a lack of volunteers.

“The shops are not only a way for our charity to make vital funds, but they also help us reach those in the community who might not know about all of our services, or don't feel comfortable contacting the hospice directly.

“Volunteering is a fantastic way to gain new skills, make new friends and get involved with the local community.”

Anyone who would like to offer their services as a volunteer is asked to message the charity via Facebook or email kat@ardgowanhospice.org