THE manager of a Helensburgh charity shop has paid tribute to a long-serving volunteer who this week marked 25 years at the store.

Margaret Gilbert has given a quarter of a century’s worth of service to the Cancer Research UK store in Sinclair Street, and she is still going strong in her mid-80s by taking on two shifts a week.

The Burgh woman, who has also helped out with the Red Cross in the town, was presented with a bouquet of flowers in honour of her special achievement - and store manager Mark Cavana expressed his gratitude for her willing help over the years.

Mark told the Advertiser: “Margaret is very important to the shop, she really helps us out with the shifts that she does, especially at her age.

“She is still really keen to help us and it’s a long time to be giving your time away for free.

“She is great with new volunteers, she knows the shop back to front and knows how everything works.

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“We really appreciate everything she does. To be here for that length of time is unusual these days; there’s actually a couple of ladies here who are not far behind her but she’s definitely the longest-serving volunteer.

“It would be very difficult to replace Margaret.”

Mark, who has been store manager for seven years, added: “We plan to go out somewhere with all the volunteers and staff at the end of the year.

“The shop celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, so it’ll be a double celebration because everything was cancelled last year due to Covid.

“We rely on Margaret to help us out and with the shifts that she does, she comes in on busy days and she takes it all in her stride, she has seen it all before.

“She doesn’t have any plans to retire soon - at least not that I know of!

“She asked if she could do more hours just recently, so she’ll keep going from strength to strength for as long as she has her health.”

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