THE Salvation Army are urging people to give a helping hand in their Irvine and Kilwinning charity shops as they launch an appeal for extra volunteers this Christmas.

November and December are incredibly busy months for the Salvation Army shops, increasing the need for extra helpers to support with sales and donations.

The shops offer training in essential volunteer skills and no matter your experience, there are a number of jobs that they need help with at Christmas time.

Nicola Crawford, Area Manager, said: “There’s no time like Christmas to help out at a Salvation Army shop. It’s one of the best times of year, but also one of the busiest. That’s why we’re appealing for a band of Sally Army Helpers who can donate as much time as they can to our Irvine and Kilwinning shops during the festive period.

"Volunteers often don’t realise how valuable they are; a couple of hours or even a few days a week make a huge difference to us. We’d like to encourage anybody interested in being one of our Sally Army Helpers to pop in to talk to our friendly staff.

"There are lots of tasks to get involved with, including sorting through donations, creating window displays, steaming and hanging clothes, assisting customers and generally helping us spread Christmas cheer! If you think you can spare any time at all, please do get in touch.”

The money raised through the Irvine and Kilwinning shops contributes to The Salvation Army’s valuable work with people who are vulnerable and in need across the UK, including homelessness and addiction services, care for older people, help at emergency incidents, support for adult victims of human trafficking and a Family Tracing Service.

Over the last five years alone the Salvation Army Trading Company’s shops and recycling initiatives have donated over £35 million to The Salvation Army.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the organisation, you can contact the Irvine store on 01294 270609 or the Kilwinning store on 01294 551435.