Lifelines and faultlines: charity shop volunteering in a time of uncertainty

This research note explores how older volunteers experienced working in the charity retail sector during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws on original research conducted in three charity shops across Greater Manchester, which explored experiences of ageing in a ‘professionalising’ sector. Findings suggest that the pandemic: (1) strengthened a collective sense of solidarity among charity shop volunteers, staff and customers, and (2) accelerated aspects of neoliberal professionalisation within the sector that made this solidarity difficult to sustain. It is argued that the pandemic not only laid bare many of the existing tensions within the charity retail sector, but posed new threats to the inclusivity of this environment. This provides insights into the long-term implications for voluntary and community sector services as they continue to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic.