Dartford Giving

By Kate Hargreaves

This month I’m writing about one of the more common ways that people volunteer to help charities – as a charity shop assistant. There are many charity shops in the Dartford area, but this month I’ll focus on the RSPCA charity shops in Dartford and Gravesend. The Gravesend branch in particular has vacancies and both shops raise money for the RSPCA Kent North West branch.

Charity shop assistant

“What is it?” As a volunteer charity shop assistant, you would join a small team working with the shop manager and other volunteers to help make it a success and raise vital funds for animal welfare. Depending on your preferences, you could help on the shop floor or in the stock room, or a mixture of both. Typical tasks include helping customers find items, processing sales, sorting through donated items, steaming and hanging donated items for sale, and creating window displays.

“Would I enjoy it?” You can make new friends, have fun, and feel good knowing that you’ve helped raise vital funds to help the RSPCA to save more animals – what’s not to like!

“What would I get out of it?” You will receive training and can develop skills in customer service, multi-tasking and merchandising. Shop experience is always great to have on your CV as it can show that you are reliable and have good interpersonal skills.

“How much time do I need for it?” Ideally, you should be able to commit at least a few hours a week, but the days and times can be arranged with the shop manager.

“Are there any requirements?” You need to be 16 or over (so this could be a great role if you’re 16 or 17 and want to get some retail experience on your CV before applying for paid roles at shops at Bluewater when you’re 18!). You should be friendly and confident talking to people, or want to develop your skills in this area. Retail experience isn’t necessary as full training will be given.

“Anything else I need to know?” If you like the idea of helping the RSPCA Kent North West branch, but aren’t keen on being a charity shop assistant, there are other ways you can help. You could become a trustee – a role that I wrote about in January 2021 (and I’m one of the trustees so you could be volunteering with me!); or you could be an eBay co-ordinator selling donated items online to raise funds for the branch. If you want more information about these roles, you can email info@rspca-kentnorthwest.org.uk.

“This sounds great, how do I get involved?” Contact the Branch Manager, Becky Blackmore, at

becky@rspca-kentnorthwest.org.uk or on 01233 733584.

If you have any questions, feel free to email kate@dartfordliving.com. As always, happy volunteering!

St George’s Church Hall DA11 0DJ

By Christina Uppenkamp - Home Instead Senior Care

Welcome to the latest edition of Senior Snippets: the monthly advisory column with the older members of our community in mind, brought to you by Christina Uppenkamp of Home Instead Dartford.

In this instalment, I will be providing you with some useful tips on keeping older people safe on social media. Technology surrounds us in our daily lives in almost everything we do. It has not only influenced the way in which we communicate, share information and complete daily tasks but a recent report suggests that it may even help to combat isolation and loneliness in older people and improve their mental health.

It’s estimated that 60% of people aged 65 and over now have access to the internet at home. Not only are the silversurfers getting to grips with emailing but they’re also logging on to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype to stay in touch with friends and family members. Many people are also playing online games, painting, sharing pictures on sites such as Pinterest and communicating with like-minded individuals on online interest groups. So, with this in mind, here are a few tips on how to stay socially active but savvy:

1. Create a strong password – use a combination of letters, capitals and numbers. 2. Use different passwords for social media sites and financial / payment sites. 3. Keep your passwords somewhere safe but not obvious. 4. Share a limited amount of personal information on social sites. 5. Never give out your address or financial information. 6. Ensure settings are set to private, not public – so only friends can see your information. 7. Never agree to meet someone without letting a relative know first. 8. Never give somebody you meet over the internet money. 9. When joining paid for social networks only enter your card details on secure and reputable websites – look out for the padlock icon on the payment page. 10. Use your common sense, if someone you meet seems too good to be true, there’s probably a strong possibility that they aren’t genuine.

I’d love to hear from you! To make a suggestion for a future topic, please write to me at c.uppenkamp@ dartford.homeinstead.co.uk. Alternatively, you can also call me on 01322923750.