Volunteers Emma Liu and Tara Rueanhom, aged 23, are helping Martlets reach out to new and younger customers with the fashion marketplace app DEPOP.
Emma began volunteering with Martlets in February this year.
“I’ve always been interested in fashion,” she explains, “I graduated from Norwich University with a degree in illustration and then moved back to Brighton. I thought I would try and get some extra experience in fashion and e-commerce.”
Emma noticed an online post from Martlets asking for a volunteer to help develop their DEPOP retail presence.
“I already had my own DEPOP account and thought I could give some time to help,” she says. “I was really pleased to be able to do this for Martlets as they supported my mum when she was ill.”
A fun experience
Emma made quick progress developing the project for Martlets and realised she needed extra help. She asked Tara, an old school friend, to join her as a volunteer. Tara had just graduated from the University of Kent and was keen to get involved.
“We’ve had such fun together,” says Emma. “We’ve been looking through donations and finding great items that we know will sell well on DEPOP.”
Tara agrees and says one of the best things about volunteering at Martlets is how flexible it is:
“We can come in at a time that suits us and the team are really grateful for our help. Everyone is so friendly. Before we started at Martlets, we were already big fans of charity shops. We would get our clothes from them rather than the big high street stores. It’s even better to be behind the scenes as we get to see the fantastic items which have been donated. Then we have the satisfaction of selling them to help raise money for such a great cause.”
Continuing through lockdown
Emma and Tara have continued to volunteer throughout the coronavirus lockdown, offering online support.
“Selling online has been important,” says Emma, “as it’s kept funds coming in while Martlet’s high street shops were closed. It’s made it a bit harder for us to get our hands on all the great items we’d like to though. We’re looking forward to being able to handpick them all again when we return to working in the warehouse!”
DEPOP is different to a lot of other fashion e-commerce. It’s important to know what’s on trend and what sells.
“We have to keep on top of that as the audience is very selective,” she continues. “As we’re big fans of fashion already that’s a really enjoyable part of selling on DEPOP!”
Emma and Tara say they would recommend volunteering at Martlets to anyone:
“We one hundred per cent love it! It’s so flexible and easy. This is our first time properly working in e-commerce so we know we are getting good experience. But more than that, it’s a really great feeling knowing that we are helping Martlets raise money. We’re helping them reach a new audience of younger people by selling fashion on DEPOP.”
Visit Martlets’ DEPOP shop at depop.com/martletshospice/