Community Service: Day 5

Describe your job activities today:

• Morning: I had to steam the clothes again. I'm not as bad at it any more, no burns!
• Afternoon: The shop got pretty busy and I had to stand by the changing rooms and make sure that people were only bringing in three items.

General thoughts on the week:

Firstly, the week went by really fast. And I mean really FAST. It felt like 2 days, not a whole week. It was a brilliant experience, I met some really great people and I got to do a lot of work for the disabled, which is always good. I learnt a lot as well. One thing which shocked me was that a good few people actualy try to STEAL from a charity shop. That, to me, is just sad. While I was working in the shop, 2 attempts were made at stealing stuff.

The end of the week:

1. Was this community service what you expected and in what way?: It wasn't really what I expected. There was a lot more organisation than I would have thought and what I thought would be a week of standing around, turned out to be pretty hard work. 
2. What are the differences between this work and work in school?: The work I did in the shop mainly consisted of manual labour- moving things, sweeping, steaming etc. compared to schoolwork which is all mental work and consists of a lot of sitting around.
3. How do you feel you progressed in the week?: As the week progressed, I gradually became faster and better at doing things; by the end of the week, I wasn't burning my hand from the steamer; I was able to tell the sizes of clothes without using the grid all the time; I could spot clothes that didn't belong where they were without having to flick through each individual hanger etc.

Community Service: Day 4

Describe your job activities today:

• Morning: I had to walk around the shop floor and tidy up the clothes racks and shelves. You'd be surprised at how fast people mess up everything.
• Afternoon: I had to sweep the shop floor and empty all the bins. I also put out a few clothes that had been steamed.

Would you like this as a career?:

To be honest, no. Even though I am working with great people and the ethos is great, I just think that it is just too boring for me and poses no challenges for me. It is a very physical job, with lots of tough manual labour but there isn't really any thinking, it's just about carrying out the same boring task again and again. It's too monotonous for me.

Work Rules:

1. Name the main rules of the organisation: All items in the shop have to be dated and anything that has been longer than 2 weeks in the shop has to be moved on to the HQ to be distributed to another shop. No exceptions- except for the items in the window display, which go on sale every 2 weeks.
2. How does the employer check timekeeping?: She keeps a diary which people have to sign their name in when they arrive and leave.
3. What Health and Safety precautions are in place?: There is a large vent above the steamer which sucks up all the excess steam, away from the person who's steaming. There are 3 exits from the shop with emergency exit signs above them. There is a fire extinguisher under the till.
4. Describe the hygiene rules: The shop has to be swept every day. There is a bottle of sanitiser beside the till for the person who is handling money.
5. What are the evacuation rules in case of an emergency?: I don't know, I wasn't told.
6. What happens if the workers break the rules?: I don't know, there aren't really any strict rules because it's a charity shop where (almost) everyone  is volunteering. However, Liz shouts sometimes, so I guess the worst you could get would be that.

Community Service: Day 3

Describe your job activities today:

• Morning: I had to do "ragging" which was basically going through each individual item on the shop floor and checking the date on it (when an item comes into the shop, it gets dated so we can keep track of how long it's been in the shop). If it was over 2 weeks old, it had to be taken to the back and put int the "outgoing stock" room. It was pretty tedious.
• Afternoon: I had to use the "steamer" which was like a huge hoover but instead of it sucking in, it blew out steam. I had to move all the clothes through the steamer which kind of instantly ironed it and made the clothes look better.

General thoughts about today:

Today went pretty well. I was 15 minutes early today so that was good. The ragging was very boring and tiring, especially on the low racks where I had to bend down for ages. I was pretty stiff afterwards. The steaming was fun although I did burn my hand a few times. I guess it just takes a bit of getting used to.

The people I work with:

1. Who do you work with and what are their jobs?: I work with Liz, the assistant manager who is basically an all-rounder and another Liz, who is  the manager. She is in charge of all the accounts and paperwork and she checks around a lot to see how everyone is doing. Aluna, Bernie, Anne, Fiona and Kevin also work with me. They're all volunteers so they come in at different times. Fiona works the same hours as me, from 10 till 3 for 4/5 days of the week and she mainly works at the till or the changing rooms. Aluna works from 9:30 till 12 for 5/6 days. Kevin works for 3 days a week. Anne and Bernie seem to come in whenever they like for an hour or two. They all just generally help out, moving stuff and cleaning the place.
2. What skills do they need to do their jobs?: Liz and Liz both have managerial skills and Liz the manager has to be good with accountancy. Fiona has to be good with numbers and totting things up in her head as she works at the till.
3. What training or qualifications do they need?: Well, seeing as it's a charity shop and the vast majority of the workforce is made up of volunteers, qualifications aren't really essential. However, Liz probably needs to be trained as to how to write up the accounts. Other Liz probably has to have managerial training of some kind. Fiona was also trained how to use the till.
4. How are you getting on with them?: Great, they're all really nice and chatty.
5. What have you done to get to know them?: Talk to them
6. What have you learned about working with other people this week?: I have learned that when working with other people, you really need to play your part of the team or else it will just hold up everyone else.

Fiona and Liz, the manager

Community Service: Day 2

Describe your job activities today:

• Morning: I had to size all the donations that were delivered the day before. I had to place the shirt/trousers/jumper etc. against a scale and see what size it was. Then I had to find an appropriate hanger and label it with a label gun. Then I had to write the size, price and date on it.
• Afternoon: I had to hang all of the steamed clothes onto the shop floor. I had to make sure that I put them in the right section.

Was today easier than yesterday?:

No, today was actually harder. A big delivery of donations arrived and we had to size, steam and hang them out on the floor. This delivery wasn't expected so everyone had to work a lot faster.

About my workplace:

1. Describe the area/ conditions where you work: There are three parts of the shop: the actual shop floor, the back, where all the donations are brought and dealt with and then the office upstairs where Liz works. There is also a small back garden where the bins are.
2. What extra information do you know about the organisation?: I know that out of all the Enable Ireland charity shops, the one in Bray is probably the most profitable. I know how much the shop makes on average, but I think that I shouldn't put it up online.
3. What product/service does it provide?: The shop sells clothes and books which are donated by the public (and sometimes other shops and the government) in order to raise money for disabled people living in Ireland.
4. How man y people work here?: Well, it's hard to answer that, seeing as most people who work here are voluntary. Liz and Liz are permanent but everyone else is voluntary. Most days, there are about 6-7 people working in the shop.
5. Any other information that you think it useful?: We got a big donation of leather shoes today from the Gardai. About 30 boxes of brand new shoes were given to us simply because they ordered too many.

The shop from the outside

The back where the donations are brought

The shop on the inside

Community Service: Day 1

Did you arrive on time: No. I did not arrive on time, in fact, I was about 20 minutes late. HOWEVER, this was NOT my fault- honestly! My mom agreed that she would drive me in early for the first day and that from then on, I would take the bus. But the problem was, she had left her glasses in my Dad's car, which she had only found out just as we were leaving. At this stage, I was too late for the bus. So the only option was to call a taxi, which arrived 10 minutes later. So my first day of Community service and I was late- but it was COMPLETELY my mom's fault.

Describe your jobs and activities today:

• Morning: I had to count the expired stock (clothes and other donations that have been over 2 weeks on the shop floor but haven't been sold)  and put them into plastic bags. Then I had to record on a sheet the amount of expired stock which was later going to be collected and brought to the Enable Ireland HQ in Ballyfermot.
• Afternoon: I had to bring the incoming stock (donations from all around the country brought from the HQ) from a truck into the "Incoming Stock" room. The incoming stock consisted of 76 bags of clothes and about 25 crates of books.

About my first day

1. Who did you meet when you arrived?: the assistant manager, Liz
2. What responsibilities were you given?: to count the expired stock and to bag it
3. Who did you work with today?: Liz, the assistant manager, Fiona, Bernie (a volunteer) and Aluna (another volunteer)
4. What was the best thing about today?: At lunch, I was free to go anywhere I wanted for an hour, which was a big novelty in comparison to school lunch where I'm restricted to the Merrion Centre
5. What could improve about today?: I could (and should) have been earlier

Community Service

I expect that over the next week, while working in Enable Ireland, I will have to do a lot of organizing and cleaning of the charity shop. I will also probably have to clean and iron the clothes that are donated to make them look better.

From this placement, I hope to learn how to cooperate and communicate with the other workers in the shop and I will learn how to be part of a team in a working environment.

My Family Crest