By Ross Brewster

Published at 09:09, Saturday, 26 January 2008

The Oxfam Shop in Museum Square needs volunteers with and without computer experience to come forward to assist with Oxfam’s online shop.

Showcasing 50,000 donated one-off items, Oxfam’s online shop offers ethical shoppers the chance to use their purchasing power for good. The stock reflects a typical Oxfam high street store – donated clothes, books, music and collectables – as well as new Fair Trade products and Oxfam’s alternative gift line Oxfam Unwrapped.The Keswick shop is among the shops going online and needs a new team of volunteers to select and upload donated items so people across the UK can purchase them from www.oxfam.org.uk/shops.

By appealing to a larger customer base, the shop’s volunteers hope to raise even more money for Oxfam’s work to fight poverty and suffering.

They also hope more donations will be made to the shop so they can add more items to the site.

Shop manager David Handley said: “The online shop is an exciting project and an excellent opportunity for new volunteers to work in a pioneering environment.

“We are looking for people to come and help us run our online shop, working not just with computers, but with our donated stock and as a member of a team.”

“Oxfam’s Online Shop is a fantastic opportunity for us to raise more money for our cause – online retailing is a growing sector and it is important for Oxfam as a retailer to be part of this industry.”

Online volunteers are of all age groups from students to silver surfers and are part of a nationwide team of 22,000 shop volunteers. Full training is provided and the amount of time each volunteer commits to is up to them.

The Keswick shop is among 750 Oxfams across the UK which pioneer ethical shopping by selling donated goods – with all proceeds going towards Oxfam’s work to end poverty.

To find out more about volunteering or donating items to the shop, call 017687 74494 or email oxfamshopf0327@btconnect.com.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk