Tea And Cake Anyone?

What We're Doing For National Volunteers' Week

National Volunteers Week is an annual occasion where people who give up their time for free to organisations all over the UK are recognised for their efforts and the richness they add to their local communities.

Many organisations simply wouldn’t be able to run if it weren’t for the generosity of time and labour that the volunteering minded give. When we think of the voluntary sector we immediately think of people who work in charity shops and animal shelters, but there are a staggering number of ongoing projects which would be impossible to maintain without volunteers. From reading to people who have sight problems to the WRVS who help elderly people enjoy a productive and valuable social life.

Learning Handy Rhyming Slang

Another sector that relies heavily on volunteers for its survival is the heritage sector. Many museums and galleries are independently run on incredibly narrow margins and wouldn’t be able to operate at all if it weren’t for the contribution that volunteers make. And Brighton Toy and Model Museum is no exception. Each year we take on volunteers and work experience candidates from the local area, and all over Europe. Our international volunteers work here as part of their tertiary education, getting real life experience working in a tourist venue, speaking English (and helping out immeasurably when our visitors share the same first language), making friends and making a valuable contribution to the running of the museum.

Give Your Time, Gain Valuable Skills

Our British volunteers add their many skills to the mix too, selling tickets, offering free tourist information, assisting in the archiving and cataloguing of the museum’s many thousands of exhibits, and getting involved with events such as Museums at Night, Brighton Festival Fringe, The Brighton Science Festival and the Sussex Rail Community Partnership. Even if it were possible to stay open without the help of our volunteers, it would be impossible for it to engage with the community and offer a fraction as much as it does. And National Volunteers’ Week is an opportunity to show our appreciation to the people whose work makes our work possible.

During National Volunteers’ Week every day will be tea and cake day for all of our helpers. Because most volunteers only come in on the same day every week, it’s quite possible for people who have been working here for ages to never meet other volunteers because they always work different days.  So we’re offering tea and cake to all of our volunteers every day. Drop in, enjoy some of Brighton’s finest pastry confections and finally get to meet a few of the other people who do so much to keep the heritage of play and childhood memories alive. How cool is that?

National Volunteers’ Week Goes from June 1st to June 7th. If you’ve got free time and you’d like to become a hero of the local community, why not see what volunteering can do for you?

Blog by Dan Cash, all opinions author's own.

Happy National Volunteer’s Week!

Brighton Toy and Model Museum really does depend on its volunteers to keep it open and it’s nice to let our team of helpers know how much we appreciate them.

Its National Volunteer’s Week from the first to the seventh of June, a week where organisations who rely on people giving their time to operate recognise the contribution that these helpers make to keeping them running. The week is organised by the NCVO and it aims to show appreciation to all the volunteers who give up their time all over the country in order to help charities keep running, and without whom we’d all be the poorer.

Why We Need Volunteers

Brighton Toy and Model Museum opened 25 years ago as a way of preserving large collections of toys while also benefiting the local community. Today we still have those collections however, we don’t just benefit the local community. Each year we welcome volunteers not only from Brighton and Hove, but from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. These volunteers come to us as part of their learning programmes in areas such as hospitality, travel and tourism to see how an attraction in a tourist resort operates, and to perfect their English while they are also able to help our overseas visitors in their mother tongues. Along with students, we also provide work experience to people via the Job Centre. People who aren’t currently in paid employment are encouraged to come to the museum where they can get essential work experience and also add new strings to their bows. Working with the museum also means that you can get a current employer reference to add to your CV.

What Does Volunteering Give You?

We don’t just expect our volunteers to work and only receive a ‘thanks very much’ in return. Our work experience gives you the opportunity to learn real-life museum front of house and back office skills. Having these skills, which are of huge importance to the smooth running of a museum and are exactly the kind of practical experience that museums, galleries and heritage sites are looking for when you want to progress in the industry. Skills such as inventory, cataloguing, description, retail, marketing and hospitality are all attributes which any museum desperately needs. We need people who possess them too. We can teach them to eager staff who want to be prepared for a role in museums or archives, or indeed to people who simply have spare time and want to do something interesting in a warm, friendly environment surrounded by toys and games!

Brighton Toy and Model Museum is always looking for more volunteers to help. If you have time and you’re looking for a chance to improve your skills and experience, or you have expert knowledge of what it takes to be an indispensable member of a museum’s team then please get in touch! We’d love to hear from people equally willing to learn or share their own knowledge, so send us a CV with a brief note outlining what you would like to do and what you would like to get out of volunteering and we’ll get back to you.

NomNomNom

Gooey volunteer cake

Volunteering sometimes comes with extra privileges.

Volunteering

Volunteers are a fundamental part of the museum's success and are involved in almost every aspect of its running, including dealing with visitors, administration, marketing, education and maintaining the collection's inventory.

We are constantly looking for new volunteers to join our friendly team. There are various roles available on a short-term and long-term basis.

To find out more, read the volunteer information pack. You can send your application back to us by post or email.