John Sansome has been volunteering with us for 20 years and is currently volunteering in catering at the hospice. We are so grateful for his help over this time and we asked him to share some of his memories of his time with us. Over the years he has helped us in so many different ways from being a van driver for our shops, to helping in the kitchens. Here, he shares 20 fond memories from his 20 years as a volunteer for us.
20 memories from 20 years
- Meeting and working with many lovely staff and volunteers at the hospice. Seeing and feeling the enthusiasm and dedication that they have for the hospice and building a strong team which is the secret to the success of the pioneer of the children hospice care in the UK and indeed the world.
2. Meeting and talking with Sister Francis many times. Picking up many donations from the public over a wide area around Oxford from as far as Cheltenham, Hungerford, Towcester and Northallerton.
3. Meeting Roger Bannister to pick up a donation. He was sat on his doorstep in the sun reading the newspaper.
4. Picking up clothes from Lady Parke. She insisted I took money to have the clothes cleaned! She had a mysterious war-time career. She related a telephone conversation with Mrs Thatcher where Mrs T asked her to become a member of the House of Lords. Lady Parke was disabled and took a taxi to and from the House of Lords from Oxford twice a week.
5. Collecting toys made by the inmates of Grendon Prison for the hospice. There was a lot of security involved!
6. Accepting the donations after an Oxford Silver Band Concert and having to give them a potted history of the hospice. I did this three times.
7. Collecting from various Oxford Colleges (Brasenose, Magdalen) and seeing some Don’s study rooms still in a 1920s time era.
8. Collecting coins that Blenheim Palace had cleared from their fountains. It was “dirty” money and our finance staff were not too pleased. They had to give it a good clean before the bank would accept the coins. The last collection I made came to £1,400.
9. Going to pick up over 1000 books from a house and leaving with twice as many!
10. Assembling a list of regular donors who used to telephone me for a collection. I remembered the retro clothes shops at St Clements. I used to collect 10 or more bag fulls each time and our eBay organiser loved them.
11. Collecting from such a wide variety of donors: schools, Mercedes Formula 1 Brackley, Culham, Harwell and many many more.
12. Carrying an armful of fur coats in July to Mallams to auction them for Helen & Douglas House.
13. Being offered two pet rabbits for the hospice children – I declined this offer.
14. Taking a shop mannequin down Bicester main street to our shop. It was difficult to know were to put my hands to carry it! Many people laughed as I passed them quickly.
15. Having to place a very large teddy bear in the passenger seat of the van using seat belts.
16. Pulling up in the van behind a bus in the Cowley Road and seeing a picture of me standing by the van I was driving. I had had the photo taken for the advert for Children’s Hospice Week and had completely forgotten about it. Later friends would telephone me and say “I have just seen a picture of you on the back of a bus!”
17. Driving into the back alley behind the Banbury shop to unload. The alley was so narrow I was unable to get out of the van!
18. My wife laughing when I said I was going to help in the kitchen at Helen & Douglas House. She knew of my “help” in the kitchen at home. I never regretted the move to help in the kitchen at the hospice. Carissa and Deni are a delight to be with and make lovely cakes as well.
19. Three more memorable experiences that I will always remember – helping at the remembrance weekends, the Christmas party for the children, their mums and dads and siblings at Christmas and also the fireworks in November.
20. All the above make my decision to join Helen & Douglas House as a volunteer so memorable – no regrets whatsoever.
John has so many fond, funny and quirky memories from his 20 years. We asked him if he had any difficult moments, particularly from his time as a van driver. His answer echoes one of the main Oxfordian bug bears: The A34!
We’re so grateful for John’s tireless contribution to Helen & Douglas House over the last 20 years and we’re so proud to have so many dedicated volunteers like him ensuring that we can be there for young children and their families when they need us the most.
Everyone thanks me for volunteering for Helen & Douglas House, but I have to thank the charity for 20 wonderful years.
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