John’s story: ‘It’s the satisfaction of doing something for a good cause’

Volunteering was part of his upbringing, ‘I’ve supported charities for as long as I can remember. My parents were always helping different causes, and as a child I even collected for blind charities. That stayed with me. When I was approaching retirement, I knew I wanted to do two things: travel—and do something that genuinely mattered’.

For John, the role is the perfect mix of purpose and flexibility. “You’re your own boss. You can do it your own way,” he explains. He looks after a wide patch—collecting and replacing donation boxes, building relationships with shop staff, and running store collections when he can. His background in finance shows in the small, practical tweaks he’s made over time: counting where possible on site, getting thank-yous out quickly, and organising banking in a way that saves time and keeps every pound working hard for RNIB.

There are big highlights—like being invited to a palace garden party in recognition of his fundraising—but John says the real moments happen week by week, face to face. Sometimes it’s a tough conversation that turns into a handshake; other times it’s a regular supporter who won’t take a collection box, but always gives a donation. And at Christmas, John’s commitment is unmistakable: three long days at his local supermarket, often a seven-hour stint, raising thousands. “It’s as much or as little as you want to make of it,” he says.

Ask John what he’d say to someone thinking about volunteering, and he keeps it simple: get started, ask for advice, and make it work for you. The role, he says, is “enjoyable, it’s simple, it’s not time consuming. You can do as much or as little as you like.”

After years of meeting people he’d never otherwise have met—and raising vital funds along the way, John says ‘I’ve got through life with logic and common sense—and volunteering has shown me that a friendly conversation and a bit of consistency can add up to something really powerful’.