Volunteer dedicates 57 years to Oxfam in Colchester

Kris Bloom, 77, first started volunteering for Oxfam in July 1967, aged just 20. At the time All You Need Is Love by the Beatles was number one.

Throughout her 57 years of service, Kris has completed around 5,000 voluntary shifts.

Smiles - Sharron Nicoll, store manager and Kris stood beside each other in the shop they work in (Image: Louise Lazell)

In honour of Volunteers' Week 2024, Kris has decided to share her story and encourage others to consider volunteering.

The grandmother of four, started volunteering while at university, just before her 21st birthday.

Kris thanked her parents who instilled a sense of wanting to try and help others. Her mother grew up in Algiers and saw first-hand the impact poverty had on families.  

Working - Kris pricing items in the shop, with a big smile on her face (Image: Louise Lazell)

Kris said: “My parents didn’t have a lot, but I was always brought up to know how lucky I was and understand that so many people were so much worse off, which is why it was important to try and help others.  

“I absolutely loved volunteering from the moment I started, and could see how it helped in so many different ways.   

“People used to come in and buy jeans which they would split the bottom of the leg to add a triangle of colour, to make flares. There was a lot of flower power then!” 

In 1970, Kris became a full-time primary school teacher and married her late husband, who she had three children with. During this time she continued to volunteer on a Sunday.

She says volunteering has always been a way for her to stay sane and is like a second family. Since retiring from teaching, aged 57, Kris now volunteers three times a week.

“Styles go around and around in circles, so things that used to be popular when I first started are in fashion again now,” she said.  

“Young people are so much more invested in second-hand now than they used to be. They love the charity shops and what they call ‘thrifting’.”

Oxfam spokesman Benjamin Carroll said: "We are profoundly grateful for Kris's unwavering dedication. Her commitment to Oxfam's mission to alleviate poverty and injustice shows just how much global impact one person can have.”