Michelle Postlethwaite

Michelle is our Warehouse Manager and a key member of the Retail Operations team at Dame Hannahs. Having started as a shop volunteer she has worked her way up to being a manager. She is responsible for stock control for the entire retail network ensuring the correct stock and quality are maintained, overseeing the sorting and processing of donations, keeping the warehouse in order and running a team of staff, volunteers and delivery team.

After moving down to Plymouth from Cumbria in 2012 she was a regular customer at the Dame Hannahs Devonport shop and soon started volunteering on a regular basis. Before moving south Michelle had worked for ten years in a ladies clothes shop so had plenty of retail experience.

As a shop volunteer Michelle quickly learnt the ropes and was soon offered the job of manager at the St Budeaux shop when it first opened. While volunteering she also helped set up the new Dame Hannahs shop in Saltash. Two years later she was offered the post of joint manager of our Transit Way site with warehouse focus before moving on to become shop and warehouse manager until its closure in 2023.

Michelle really enjoys her job as warehouse manager as she loves processing stock, organising and putting things in order as well as the unpredictable nature of the role and the variety of challenges this throws up. Over the years she has enjoyed helping out in the other shops and she has many fond memories of people she has met through her work. She is now looking forward to the future which involves planning an online presence in order to raise additional funds and to reach a wider audience. This is something that Michelle has had past experience in during her time at NS2 in Cumbria.

About her time at Dame Hannahs Michelle said “I am really thankful for the opportunities I have been given with Dame Hannahs. I have always put in a lot of effort and I have seen it pay off. I love getting to know new members of the team, helping to nurture them and watching them thrive and develop. And I have always tried to help create a friendly and relaxed environment.
I have learnt a lot about disabilities over the years through some of the people I have worked with and the adults we support in Ivybridge. And it is really rewarding to help raise funds so that our adults can have the same experiences as us.
Working in the shops and warehouse can be unpredictable but I always love a challenge. And it has been fascinating to see some of the more unusual donations. Inevitably there have been ups and downs along the way but it is great to see the shops thriving knowing the role that I play. I have had a lot of different roles during my time at Dame Hannahs and for me it is important to be able to work hard but also have fun”.