Kate Johnson, Volunteer of the Month, in her beloved Red Cross Bookshop. Photo / Paul Brooks
Kate Johnson, Volunteer of the Month, in her beloved Red Cross Bookshop. Photo / Paul Brooks
Kate Johnson recently retired as volunteer co-ordinator of the Whanganui Red Cross Bookshop, but that hasn't stopped her still coming in when a shift needs to be covered, or just to keep in touch. Trudy Taylor, secretary of the local branch of NZ Red Cross, nominated Kate for Volunteer of theMonth for March — "This award would be in recognition of her passion for our bookshop".
Sandra Rickey, Volunteer Whanganui manager, presented Kate with a certificate, a lapel badge and a $40 voucher from Mud Ducks cafe. Tim Watson at Mud Ducks has been sponsoring the voucher since 2018.
Kate started volunteering at the bookshop in August 2012. That's when it opened for the first time in the Red Cross building opposite the Municipal Chambers in Guyton St. "I saw the job advertised in Midweek," she says. "I was librarian at Wanganui Collegiate and had taken early retirement." She had also served as librarian at Sacred Heart, St Augustine's and, when they combined, Cullinane College.
She saw the ad and thought, "Bookshop. How fantastic is that! My happy place: paradise. I applied and they took me." Kate did two shifts a week plus extra work when needed. A couple of years later, Kate was talked into taking the bookshop co-ordinator's job. "I've always been a reader and I just love books. And I love matching people with books: that's the best thing. Especially people who come in with a list. "I guess that's why I stayed so long. And also, the people who work there are just marvellous, and they're all there because they obviously enjoy books. I think it's important to know books and have a feel for books."
The Red Cross Bookshop is not just books - it also has a selection of CDs, DVDs and jigsaws, and it always needs more donations of all those plus books. Because it sells its lines so cheaply, the shop has a high turnover of stock and is always needing more.
And the Red Cross Bookshop needs more volunteers like Kate and the others who staff the shop every day. Sandra at Volunteer Whanganui conducts the first interview for the bookshop volunteers, to see if they are suited to the job. If you, like Kate, have a passion for books and love dealing with like-minded people, you could be just what the Red Cross Bookshop needs. To see if you are suited to the job, register at Volunteer Whanganui.
