Planning this year's coat swap rota (and what I'm changing)

Our neighbourhood winter coat swap opens at the community centre on Saturday 21 December and runs all week, and the rota is finally done! Last year I learned the hard way what happens when a rota is just a list of names and good intentions: I stayed until closing twice, and one lovely volunteer spent most of her shift looking for the key to the store cupboard.

So I've changed a few things this time, and I'm writing them up in case they help anyone planning something similar where you live.

What's different

• Shorter shifts. Ninety minutes instead of half a day. Far more people said yes, and the ones who want to do more have simply signed up for two.
• A named lead for every shift. One person who knows where the keys, the first aid kit and the spare bin bags are, so questions stop funnelling to me.
• A sorting session before we open. A small crew will sort donations by type and size the evening before, so opening-day volunteers can chat with people instead of digging through bags.
• Reminders the day before. Short and friendly, with the shift time and which door to use.

What we still need

Donations are already coming in, but they're mostly adult sizes. We're short on children's coats, hats and gloves, and on men's coats in the larger sizes. Last year we had a mountain of medium jackets and nothing left for the kids by the afternoon, and I'd love to avoid that this time.

There are also a few gaps on the weekday evening shifts. If you're nearby and can spare ninety minutes, comment below and I'll send you the details. And a huge thank you to everyone who has already signed up. You lot are the best.