At Cancer Research UK, every decision we make is guided by one unwavering goal: beating cancer. We’re always looking at ways to make the most of the money we can spend on life-saving cancer research – and that means ensuring every pound we raise works harder for our mission.
Our shops have played a big part in helping us raise money for life-saving research over many years, and we’re so grateful for everything our volunteers and staff do to make that possible.
But things are changing. Running costs are going up and people are shopping differently – which means that many of our shops are not going to be financially sustainable over the next five years. We need to adapt so we can keep making the biggest difference for people affected by cancer.
This means we’ll focus on a smaller number of high-performing shops, grow our network of larger superstores in out-of-town areas and close our online marketplace for pre-loved items. These changes will help us raise around £12.4 million more over the next five years—money that will go directly into life-saving cancer research.
We also hope that by focusing on fewer shops, we can make them even better places to volunteer, work and shop.
The dedication, hard work, and the positive impact volunteers make in our shops, and the community, means a great deal to us. We are truly grateful for the time, energy, and passion all our volunteers give and want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s been part of our shop teams. We’re here to support you through this change, and we’ll be sharing more information and guidance with everyone affected.
Julie Byard, Director of Trading at Cancer Research UK, has recorded a message for our volunteers, to thank you for your contributions to the charity and your continued support. In the video, Julie also shares more information about why we’ve made the decision to close a number of our shops, what this means for you as a volunteer, and our next steps.
These decisions have been hard to make, and we know this news will be difficult to hear. We’re committed to supporting every team member affected by these changes. Please speak to your shop manager if you have any questions or you can also get in touch with the Volunteering team at volunteering@cancer.org.uk or read our FAQs:
Volunteer FAQs(PDF, 119 KB)
Don’t forget that you can also access support through the Retail Trust. This includes confidential health and wellbeing support services with personalised tools, a 24-hour helpline, counselling and more. You can contact them through:
Their 24/7 helpline: 0808 8010808 - quote 'Cancer Research UK'
Completing a contact request form on their Retail Trust website at www.retailtrust.org.uk
We hope you’ve found your volunteering experience positive and rewarding. We’re keen to hear your thoughts and feedback, so if you’re happy to share your views about your time with us, please complete our short survey.
The survey will also give you the opportunity to let us know what would be most helpful to you during this challenging time, from signposting to support and resources, to help finding another volunteer role. Your responses will help us to support our volunteers and make sure you have all the information and support you need.
If you’d like to continue supporting us, we’d be extremely grateful. To stay informed about our latest news and breakthroughs and other ways to support our work, please call 0300 123 3379, email preferences@cancer.org.uk or visiting cruk.org/preferences.
If you’d like to explore other ways to support the charity, whether through volunteering elsewhere, fundraising, or spreading awareness, you can also speak to your shop manager, call our Volunteering team on 0300 123 3701 or visit cruk.org/get-involved.
