The Mill cafe is on the hunt of volunteers!

Our popular cafe The Mill, which raises funds to support the care of St Catherine’s Hospice, is recruiting new volunteers to help them develop their important work.

The Mill, St Catherine’s Park, is a bustling cafe situated in our gorgeous grounds. It operates as a social enterprise with all profits raised ploughed back into the hospice charity, which provides specialised care and support for local families.

The Mill is now appealing for new volunteers to join their team as cafe assistants and is keen to hear from local people interested in giving their time to make a difference, whilst enjoying other benefits such as meeting new people, developing new skills and gaining useful work experience.

Helen Brocki began working as a cafe assistant after retiring from her job as deputy principal at Lancashire College. She was keen to find another challenge to keep her busy and motivated throughout the working week so went online to find out about volunteering opportunities.

After hearing about The Mill, she signed up as a volunteer café assistant. Since then she has never looked back, and enjoys giving her time each week.

Helen said: “I love volunteering here – it’s a lot more relaxed than working, but it also gives me a structure to my week.

“When I retired, I needed something to keep me busy, I knew about St Catherine’s Hospice and the great work they do, so I just looked on the internet to see what was available. I like coming here because I’m meeting customers and working with many different people. I’ve caught up with old friends here and have made many new friends too.”

Volunteer café assistants play a vital role at The Mill – a café which prides itself on serving locally sourced, seasonal produce – and assist with everything from preparing and serving food and drink to clearing tables and cleaning, all whilst providing welcoming and friendly customer service.

Helen added: “The Mill is a not only a wonderful place to visit, but also to work in as well. I think there was a shortage of these nice café restaurants in the area so it’s great that we have something like this now in Preston.

“We cater for a varied mix of customers and I think they also like to come here because not only is the food exciting, but they know the profits are going straight back into a worthwhile cause in St Catherine’s.”

Nicola Hanmer, commercial catering manager at St Catherine’s and The Mill, encouraged people to consider joining their team.

She said: “The Mill is a wonderful community project working on many different levels to raise vital funds.

“For catering and hospitality students it would be a great way to gain some valuable work experience, while volunteering in general always looks impressive on a CV. We’ve also heard from Helen how much she gets out of giving something back to her local community and the enjoyment of meeting friends old and new.

” It really is a fantastic team to be part of and we’d love to hear from people who are interested in getting involved, having some fun and helping to make a difference.”

If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering at The Mill email volunteerdepartment@stcatherines.co.uk or call 01772 629171. To apply online click here. Full training is provided.

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