PAUL Sartori Hospice at Home is delighted to have been awarded £29,814 to help support its dedicated network of volunteers.

The charity has been awarded a grant to develop the We Care: Volunteering Support project from Pembrokeshire County Council's Enhancing Pembrokeshire Scheme.

The grant will be used to improve the charity's volunteer infrastructure and support the volunteer community.

The project will increase community engagement and opportunities to connect people through training, open days, new social events and wider community outreach and communication.

The first phase of the project has been completed with the successful recruitment of Eleanor Evans as the We Care project officer.

Eleanor joins this part of the charity, on a secondment basis, and brings a wealth of experience, not only within the charity but also working with volunteers throughout the county.

Like all charities, Paul Sartori has experienced challenges over the last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sartori Stores throughout Pembrokeshire, have also been through a difficult year, closing, opening and closing again.

This new project will enhance the existing volunteer structure within the charity, develop incentives to increase volunteer engagement; support volunteers by providing increased training opportunities and develop a new social culture to decrease loneliness and isolation. Recognising that the pandemic has been a difficult time for many, improving and increasing community communication will also be a key aim.

Another key objective of the project will be to recruit and train more volunteers to help generate vital income and support areas within the clinical services as due to the pandemic, there has been a decrease in the number of available volunteers to help.

"I am very excited to join this area of the charity and am looking forward to this new role," said Eleanor.

"Having worked within the retail sector previously, I know how a lack of volunteers within a store can have a detrimental effect on the opening days and times. This will be where I will be concentrating my recruitment efforts initially.

"Here at Paul Sartori we work hard to deliver a rewarding volunteer experience - we ensure that adequate training is given to all volunteers.

"Our stores can be a very busy, fast-paced environment, which offers a great opportunity for the environmentally conscious individual who wishes to help out a local charity selling pre-loved goods."

Cllr Bob Kilmister, Pembrokeshire County Council's cabinet member for finance, said the council was pleased to support the project.

"This project will add to the wide range of essential services Paul Sartori already provides to people in Pembrokeshire, improve their volunteer infrastructure and support the volunteer community," he said.

Judith Williams, grants coordinator at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home added:

"This grant has come at a good time for the charity. Assisting our valued volunteers; recruiting more active volunteers and investing more in our existing training programme will ensure that the charity is financially sustained for many years to come."