A dedicated shop manager says she remains as proud and passionate as ever after clocking up more than a decade working for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
Haze Selby-Dee manages the charity’s shop in Felixstowe and joined the team in September 2015.
At the time she was assistant manager of the Sense shop in Ipswich, having moved away from Suffolk in her early 20s.
She had various jobs working with vulnerable young people in Surrey, before moving back and volunteering at an Oxfam eBay hub in Felixstowe.
Her manager asked if she had thought about working in charity retail and Haze successfully applied to become assistant manager of the Sense shop in Felixstowe, before transferring to Ipswich.
“I then saw the EACH shop manager advert and wondered if it was something I could do, although the leap seemed huge,” said the 47-year-old.
“However, I loved the shop, and, having researched what the charity was, I thought back to my work with children and young adults and knew I wanted the job.
“I applied, having no expectation of being successful, and, to my amazement, was offered the job.
“The role I had ten years ago is vastly different to the one I have now, with extra challenges but greater rewards. However, I still absolutely love working for EACH.
“I particularly enjoy the ecommerce side of the business and have learnt so much about eBay. I get to photograph items to sell online, which is where my journey into charity retail began during my early days with Oxfam.”
When Haze first joined, EACH had just 18 shops dotted around the region. Now there are 54.
“A typical day involves firstly thinking about my rota – which volunteers I have in, is there till cover and do I have volunteers with additional needs that might need support,” she said.
“Then, once I’ve identified tasks that need completing and who’s doing what, it’s all about the shop floor and what we can sell on the day.
“I think it’s important for my volunteers to have an overview of targets and what the shop needs to take to hit budgets, so I divide our weekly budget by seven and write on the whiteboard what we need to take per day.
“Then we gather round the till at cash-up time and play the ‘guess how much we’ve taken’ game!”
Haze says that without doubt, the best thing about working for a charity is the volunteer team around her. She says they inspire her every day with their passion and enthusiasm.
“We have volunteers that only stay for a few shifts before moving on and those who are part of the fixtures and fittings,” said Haze, who, outside of work, is a massive AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego).
“Six of the volunteers I recruited when I started received their ten-year long service awards last year, and that’s possibly my proudest achievement with EACH.
“I make a point of telling my team there’s no hierarchy; if you do a couple of hours or four afternoons, you’re giving me and the shop your valuable time and that means the world to me.
“Aside from that, I love the randomness of charity shops, and my favourite thing is a customer coming in and asking ‘I don’t suppose you have…
“They then ask for a very obscure item and I’m able to say ‘yes, I saw one out the back’. It’s a great feeling.”
As part of the LGBTQI+ community, Haze loves the heavy emphasis EACH puts on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
She says it helps create an environment where people from all backgrounds feel welcome, supported and respected.
“The work EACH is doing around EDI is vitally important in a world where people are becoming more intolerant and divisive,” said Haze.
“I’ve said from the very beginning that being a charity shop manager in the best job in the world, as there’s no other role where you get to work with such a diverse group of people. I can be working with a 14-year-old in the morning and an 85-year-old in the afternoon!
“As part of the LGBTQI+ community, I stress we are open to all flavours of the rainbow and love being in an environment where I’m able to work alongside trans and gender non-conforming volunteers.”
Haze says another of her proudest achievements was overseeing the Felixstowe shop’s move to bigger, better and brighter new premises on the corner of Hamilton Road and York Road, in June 2024. EACH had previously traded in smaller premises across the road since November 2012.
“The old shop had served a purpose and it felt like we’d outgrown it, given the way our organisation has expanded,” said Haze.
“We needed to move, and our new home is perfect, giving us a classy, stylish base with more space to sell our range of donated and new goods.”
