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Betty Cruikshank
Louise Gray
Betty Cruikshank has been volunteering at the Ayrshire Hospice Crown Street shop since 2007 and, over the past 18 years, has become a familiar and much-loved face to our team and customers.
I was a shop manager with Cancer Research UK for 25 years, based first in Troon and then Clarkston. Two and a half years ago, I moved back to my home village of Muirkirk, having spent 33 years in Troon. Last year, I decided I needed a change of job – the travelling to Clarkston and back was proving to be just a bit much for me! I signed up to Indeed and was bombarded with job vacancies on a daily basis. One Sunday evening, I saw the vacancy for shop manager at the Ayrshire Hospice shop in Cumnock. I applied immediately and the rest, as they say, is history. The past six months have absolutely flown in. The staff and volunteers have been amazing and so supportive, and the customers are brilliant. I have reconnected with so many people I haven’t seen in years. It is a fantastic shop to run, with so many quality donations and generous people supporting the Hospice. It is a community-driven shop and people really get behind us, whatever we do.
Betty volunteers one full day and one half-day each week and will be 84 this year. She said: “I like to show people that at this age we are alive and kicking!”
Some of the garments are incredibly small. As Betty explained: “Some of the things I knit are only 16 stitches.” Betty began making the items after a fellow volunteer, whose daughter is a midwife, explained that there was a need for clothing small enough for some babies. Unsure just how tiny the garments needed to be, Betty was given a bead smaller than a penny as a guide. She was stunned by how small it was, but put her knitting skills to work creating garments to fit. To help Betty continue her wonderful work, we provide her with donated wool to create these beautiful and thoughtful pieces. They may be small in size, but the care and kindness that goes into making them is immeasurable.
A highly valued member of the team, Betty greets customers, chats with them and helps them find whatever they are looking for – and if it’s there, Betty will find it! She is also our resident expert on knitting and wool at Crown Street. A keen knitter herself, Betty also makes tiny items of clothing for maternity units, both for babies born prematurely and for families whose babies sadly die before or shortly after birth.
Louise Gray (left) with long time volunteer Barbara Houston
When I moved back to Muirkirk, I came home. When I came to work for the Ayrshire Hospice, I felt like I had truly come home.
A blanket with a special story
Love a bargain or an unusual find?
Madeleine Cook was the lucky winner of this specially made blanket, which was donated to our Girvan shop. The blanket has a touching story. It was made by a woman who sadly died before she was able to finish it. Her wish was that the blanket should not be sold, but instead donated to the Ayrshire Hospice. We were able to find a supporter who kindly completed the blanket before it was raffled at our Girvan shop, raising £142 for the Hospice. Thank you to everyone who took part in the raffle and congratulations to Madeleine!
You can browse a fantastic selection of donated items through the Ayrshire Hospice shops on eBay and Vinted, with new treasures being added regularly.
Our e-commerce team is also dipping its toe into the world of eBay Live, bringing some of our latest finds directly to shoppers through live online events. However you choose to shop, every purchase helps support the work of the Ayrshire Hospice.
Shop with us online eBay: www.ayrshirehospice.org/ebay Vinted: www.ayrshirehospice.org/vinted
September 2026 | EDITION 42
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