ShopKind
About
What is ShopKind?
#ShopKind is a retail industry campaign, co-ordinated by ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) on behalf of the UK Home Office, that is responding to the growing problem of abuse and violence toward shopworkers. Our aims are simple:
• Encourage kind behaviour in shops.
• Acknowledge the essential role of shopworkers in our communities.
• Raise awareness about scale and impact of abuse and violence towards shopworkers.
Get Involved
ShopKind is for the whole retail sector. We are encouraging all retailers to download the print and social media campaign materials below and use them in stores.
Videos
Watch ShopKind videos from brands such as Greggs and Co-op.
Posters
Download ShopKind posters for your own premises.
Gloucester BID and Gloucester City Safe have packs of posters and badges
If your business is within the BID area and you would like a pack, please email us and we will deliver one to you. They contain a covering letter, links to information, posters and badges.
Retail Chaplaincy
From Rev. Sue Peat of St John’s Methodist Church, Northgate Street.
As part of the ongoing work within the Gloucester community, St. John’s Methodist Church in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Methodist Circuit have been engaged for the last 14 months in retail chaplaincy work with the shops and businesses in the city centre – primarily those in the close vicinity to St. John’s.
Like all forms of chaplaincy, the purpose of retail / workplace chaplaincy is to provide a regular opportunity for staff and volunteers in shops and businesses to speak in confidence to a designated Chaplain about any problems they may be facing in their work or personal life. Whilst the Chaplain may not be able to solve their problems, often simply having someone they can trust to talk with can be hugely beneficial.
Also, whilst the chaplaincy work is done from a faith perspective (Christian), the intention is never to proselytise or coherse in any way. The emphasis of chaplaincy is always on ‘presence’ rather than ‘proclamation.’
Feedback so far has been very good and the presence of a Chaplain has been well received.
Vision for the future
The way the retail chaplaincy is currently operating is on a very small scale – just 1 Chaplain. I believe there is the scope to broaden the work to ultimately develop and train a chaplaincy team that could offer chaplaincy support to the shops and businesses across the whole city centre. With this wider vision for the work, it would be good to have the input and support of Gloucester BID. This would bring a greater sense of structure and affirmation of the purpose of the chaplaincy work.
