With high street banks closing their local branches at an alarming rate (NatWest is due to close in February 2023, which leaves Oxted and Limpsfield with HSBC and the Yorkshire Building Society), it’s no surprise that our post offices, including our local village ones, are feeling the pressure with many people now using them for their everyday banking services.

Limpsfield Memorial Stores and Post Office on Limpsfield High Street, has been run by the community for the benefit of the community since 1999 with minimum paid employees and a reliance on volunteers in both the shop and the Post Office.

They are currently looking for volunteer help in the stores, but particularly in the Post Office. So if you are looking for something interesting and can commit to a minimum of half a day a week, then they’d love to hear from you.

NO experience? No problem!

No previous experience is required to volunteer with Memorial Stores and there are no set skills requirements other than an enthusiasm to support our local community and a willingness to learn!

Post Office Volunteer

The Post Office volunteer role requires more of a commitment as the Post Office provides a wide range of services which necessitates more training and learning.

Memorial Stores ask Post Office volunteers to commit to a half a day per week shift (9am-1pm or 2pm-5pm).

This is a very customer-focused role and you will need to be welcoming and listen to the needs of the customer, in order to help them with their enquiries. The role is interesting and varied, and full training will be provided.

In addition, there are ongoing training modules provided centrally by the Post Office in order to keep your knowledge up-to-date.

The Post Office is open Monday to Friday 9am-1pm and 2pm-5pm, and Saturday 9am-12.30pm.

Shop volunteeR

There are a variety of jobs to do in the shop and volunteers are able to become involved as much as they wish.

The key role is serving behind the till and providing a welcoming service for our customers, but there are always lots of other jobs to do such as putting stock on shelves, receiving and checking orders, keeping the shop clean, checking sell by / use by dates, and dealing with customer queries.

When you become a volunteer you will be given full training on all aspects of the shop including operating the till and card machine, Health and Safety policies and customer service.

You will be trained by another volunteer and/or our Shop Manager.

Slots in the shop are 1½ or 2 hours with volunteers putting their name down on the rota on a week by week basis. There is no fixed commitment required; if you are unable to volunteer in a particular week, you simply don’t put your name on the rota.

Shop opening times are Monday to Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday 8am-12.30pm, and Sunday 8am-12pm. A paid employee looks after Sundays, so on Sunday volunteers are needed.

If you’re interested, pop in and say hello, or call 01883 713306.