Lottery Volunteer Zena

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“I never really gave much thought to retiring although I was over the retirement age but as I was in good health, I intended to continue. I had been travelling the world for 30 years with my husband, in the R.A.F. and as a holiday courier for 15 years.

“Then fate took a hand and I walked into the Dove House Hospice furniture shop on Beverley Road looking for picture frames for my daughter. I had to wait as there were two other customers purchasing a chest of drawers. Overhearing the conversation, there seemed to be some doubt as to what kind of wood it was. I recognized the wood immediately as being Canadian Cedar and on stating the fact, we all got talking and eventually they bought the entire bedroom suite! The Manager was very pleased and laughingly suggested I should take a job there.

“A few weeks later I was again in the shop and I met the Retail Manager, Joyce Bratton. She recognized me immediately as she had lived next door to my mother-in-law some years previously. She invited me up to her office, we discussed the past twenty years and during the conversation she told me about her work for Dove House Hospice. She then casually asked if I would be interested in becoming a volunteer when I retired and I promised to consider it.

“Almost a year later I contacted her and became a volunteer for the hospice in the furniture shop. During the years that followed I became more and more involved with Dove House Hospice and the marvellous work done there. As I had done a great deal of charity work in the past, I found it most congenial and with time to spare I also became involved with the Fundraising Department at the Baker Centre where I worked both in the Warehouse and Transport Office. Each department offered its own challenge and when the Lottery was set up, I was in on the ground floor and started selling tickets. This was mostly weekend work at small events but as its popularity increased these quickly became larger functions.

“Having been blessed, as my father used to say with the “gift of the gab”, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was another challenge for me. After 15 years I still work in all the departments as and when I’m needed, namely Retail, Transport and Lottery.

“I have watched Dove House Hospice flourish and prosper. Recently there has been modernisation, computerisation and an increase in the number of shops and each has presented a new challenge. As in all walks of life there have been ups and downs but above all a great deal of laughter and satisfaction. I have received a lot of support and made many friends both among the staff and volunteers and the public. When I visit the shops to promote the Lottery I am always made to feel welcome by staff and customers alike.

"To be a volunteer is an extremely rewarding and satisfying experience. I would heartily recommend to anyone with time on their hands and I intend to continue this work as long as the Good Lord spares my Irish days!”

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