Owen's Story

Owen speaks about his involvement in Overgate at a young age

Overgate Hospice has been a big part of my life from being a young child. My Auntie Tracey started working at the Hospice in 2009 running their charity shops and from the very start she roped in the whole family to help!
I spent a lot of time with my Grandma and Grandad as a child and this didn’t stop when they started volunteering at the Overgate Furniture Shop in Brighouse. When it first opened my Grandad was a volunteer who went out collecting furniture donations from people’s homes and me and my Grandma would volunteer at the shop, serving the customers.

In 2011, my Grandad was diagnosed with a brain tumour and as his health deteriorated, he was admitted to the Hospice for end of life care. I remember visiting him and speaking to the lovely staff who worked there. After losing my Grandad, the whole family continued to support the Hospice. As I got older, I got involved with the annual Fashion Shows that the retail team hold. I started modelling some of the children’s clothes that had been donated to the shops but as I got a bit older I started to help behind the scenes at the event.

As a family we have also helped at many of the other events. This year I have also started volunteering at the new Donation Centre in Elland. I spend most of my time volunteering on the van, helping with collections of donations but I also help sorting through donations.

I love volunteering so much and it can sometimes be easy to forget the impact the charity shops have on local people, but if anyone ever asks me why I volunteer for Overgate I always stop and explain that every little thing that someone does to support the Hospice helps to care for local people who need them. People like my Grandad.


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