The Sooty Effect transcript
[Gerry]:
My name's Gerry Allen I live in Thirsk and many years ago when I retired from my occupation I registered with the local volunteer bureau. I was contacted by the RNIB who said they wanted a local volunteer to empty the Sooty boxes and I said I'd be delighted to do it. The RNIB, their charity collection box is a green base with a yellow teddy bear - like Sooty - like everybody remembers. They just sit on the counter in shops and pups and it's known as a Sooty box. So naturally I am called the Sooty man. Here are the dozen cards for the sites that need emptying so we're going to do those today. We're going off Sootying.
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[Gerry]:
It's a simple process of going round shops, pubs. You're walking down the street with three boxes in your bag and going into every shop and saying would you please have a box? When they say yes, you chain it down, you say I'll see you again in a few weeks' time and that's all income.
My name's Gerry…
[Male]:
Hi Gerry.
[Gerry]:
I'm the local volunteer for the partially sighted.
[Music]
[Gerry]:
Well done, very heavy, well done.
When I started and I think it's 14 years ago I had six or seven boxes in Thirsk and now I've got probably 1000 and I think a little - a few more. In my first year I seem to recollect I collected £500 or £600. After two or three years I got this lovely letter from the RNIB in London saying you've raised £5000 in the year which I thought was fantastic. Oh I've done £5000. I'm too modest to tell you how much I raise at the moment but it makes £5000 look like peanuts. I do six times that at the moment.
When you're collecting for people who are suffering sight loss,there's a great sense of achievement. I was told by the lady that interviewed me 14 years ago that it becomes addictive and that's why I do it, you get a buzz out of it. You go to a box in York there were 15 £20 notes in it. People are so generous, there's £300 in the box and it rekindles your faith in human generosity and all the rest of the clichés. But it is a very worthwhile thing to do. Being a volunteer means that you can choose how much time you wish to give. I choose to give a lot because I have no other outside interests. I don't garden, I don't decorate. But if you just wish to give a littlebit of your time it will be very much appreciated.
We've had a wonderful day collecting in Thirsk I've done quite a lot. I'm just going to have a two minute break and sit here and count the money and then I'm going to bank it.
If you're interested in volunteering for RNIB email or call 0845 603 0575.
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rnib.org.uk