# Doubling of male volunteers in BHF shops

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/04/04/doubling-male-volunteers-bhf-shops/
- Published: 2011-04-04T07:10:12+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/bhf_volunteers.jpg)

The British Heart Foundation reports that the number of men volunteering to work
in its shops has increased by 100% in three years. In 2008 one in six shop volunteers
were male, and now it is one in three. The charity announced the change as it marked
the launch of its largest volunteer recruitment drive to date, running throughout
April.

The charity attributes the rise in male volunteers, which it has tracked from March
2008 to March 2011, partly to increased unemployment, and also to the expansion 
of its Furniture and Electrical Stores which it thinks some men might find more 
appealing.

According to figures from the Charity Retail Association from November 2010, 25%
of men consider volunteering in a charity shop and of these, 22% would rather test
electrical goods in comparison to only 6% of women, hence the attraction of the 
Furniture and Electrical Stores.

## Advertisement

Women prefer the customer-facing roles; 72% said customer service was the skill 
they could most contribute compared to 49% of men. They also said they preferred
roles such as window dressing (30%) and working in fashion (23%), which only 6% 
of men were interested in.

BHF Retail Director, Mike Lucas said: “Our volunteers are vital to the work of the
BHF and we appreciate every minute people donate. We also hope to give something
back; at a time of nationwide job cuts BHF Shops are encouraging both men and women
to keep their foot on the career ladder and gain some excellent retail experience.”

The BHF has a network of 560 Shops and over 100 Furniture & Electrical Stores. Roles
for men and women include window dressers, telephonists, stock collectors, sales
assistants, warehouse assistants, books and music specialists and electrical function
testers.

www.bhf.org.uk/volunteer

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