Risk and resistance: Ageing in the charity retail sector

Kelly, Siobhan

Abstract

Background
Charity shops have long been found to promote sociability, nurture experiences of belonging and act as spaces for community, caring and well-being. Older people remain likely to participate in this setting and charity shop volunteering is typically associated with events of positive ageing. However, the sector's growing emphasis on professionalism and profit raises questions about the potential impact of organisational change on this group. This research seeks to address this gap by exploring how older volunteers experience their roles within the evolving context of the modern UK charity shop.

Methods
This PhD study employed an ethnographic approach, involving 268 hours of immersive fieldwork across 3 charity shops in Greater Manchester. Ethnographic data was complemented by 17 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and store managers.

Results
Ageist discourses have been embedded into the sector, which work to reconstitute older volunteers as a type of ‘risky subject'. Such discourses manifest in unique ways on the charity shop floor and comprise of a range of practices, both subtle and overt, that are driven by the organisations focus on an intensified form of productivity. This prompts diverse forms of resistance from older volunteers, which are underpinned by the aim to not only counter negative perceptions of ageing, but be just ‘visible’ enough in order to get by.

Conclusion
This paper unpacks the multifaceted nature of ageism in the charity retail sector. Whilst it is not as simple as suggesting that charity shops are solely characterised by ageism - especially considering the volunteer experience varies considerably across different contexts and places - age-related tensions are nonetheless more prevalent in the everyday. Older volunteer's are not passive in the face of such change and continually work to avoid exclusion and remain integrated in this space in diverse ways.

Citation

Kelly, S. (2024, October). Risk and resistance: Ageing in the charity retail sector. Poster presented at Irish Gerontological Society Annual and Scientific Meeting 2024, Athlone, Ireland

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: Irish Gerontological Society Annual and Scientific Meeting 2024
• Conference Location: Athlone, Ireland
• Start Date: Oct 3, 2024
• End Date: Oct 5, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 21, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 21, 2024