Radley Village Shop is a community co-operative based in newly fitted out premises at Catharine Court, Church Road, Radley. The shop is staffed by volunteers from the village, lead by a professional shop manager, John Goodenough. Supporting John are a team of volunteer managers and helpers both in the shop and behind the scenes. There are at least 70 volunteers supporting the shop in some way. The shop's success is all thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers and they are its single greatest asset.

Volunteer helpers in the shop can choose how often they want to work. Volunteers either work a regular weekly or fortnight shift (usually three hours) or come in when required to fill a gap in the rota. There are usually three people in the shop at all times – two volunteers and either the shop manager or a trained volunteer manager.

Full training is given and someone else is always on hand with advice. All procedures have been documented and there is a comprehensive volunteer instruction manual explaining all the activities needing to be done.

Other volunteers help with newspaper requests, collecting supplies, financial matters, advertising and premises management. Management committee and other key people

As one of our volunteers comments: "It is great to have a shop in the village again and I find it uplifting being involved. I had never worked in a shop before. My initial feelings of apprehension soon passed, as everyone was so supportive. I enjoy my weekly shift; meeting people, learning new skills and working in such as friendly atmosphere."

Become a volunteer. If you'd like to join the team, please talk to the shop manager (Tel: 01235 526231) or contact Sue Ward, shop rota organiser (Tel: 01235 539028 or email rotamanager@radleyvillageshop.com). Please also let Sue know if you're prepared to join:

• Rapid Response Group – people who are prepared to help at short notice when a last minute crisis prevents someone coming to the shop for some or all of their shift, or when more hands are needed to sort deliveries, etc
• Volunteer Manager Group – people who will lead the team for a shift (extra training will be given). The volunteer managers also help to improve communications between all the volunteers by 'cascading' information to a small number of volunteers (newsletters, urgent messages, etc).

A quarterly newsletter for volunteers helps to keep everyone up-to-date with information about the shop and the volunteer scheme.