The Museum and the Historic Archives are entirely run by volunteers, We have a wide range of opportunities for volunteers to match both threir interests and availablity in helping at the museum.
Please read though the dection below, we are sure you will find something which will interest you.
So why not volunteer and help us save Redditch History and Heritage.
Volunteers, Skills and Trades
As fundraising and premises lease negotiations are going well, we are now starting to plan the museum contents and how the museum will operate. To do this we need volunteers. Without volunteers the museum will not be viable.
These notes are just an indication of what we have identified so far, we are sure there are other things to do.
We need volunteers to work in the following area.
- To help in the continuing fundraising and promotional activities
- To decorate and prepare the premises.
- To help process, record and maintain the Archives
- To help design, document and realise the exhibit posters
- To staff the museum on a day to day basis when we are open.
Fundraising & Promotion
We need volunteers who are willing to help attract donations through the following routes:
- Fundraising promotion via Justgiving site
- Fundraising via private donations
- Fundraising via business sponsors
- Fundraising via grants
Premises Preparation and Decoration
Decoration
- Shop Front – Need to agree layout and Signage for Shop Front
- Window Display – need to provide raised platforms and backboard (Existing display boards) to allow display content to ne added and changed as necessary
- Back Door – needs stripping and painting
- Fixed “Slatboards” in display area need lables removing and cleaning.
- Meeting Room/Exhibition Room (First Floor) needs decorating or wall boards for exhibition material.
- There is also a long list of “domestic” duties such as cleaning surfaces, windows and fittings.
Trade Sponsorships
To open the museum we have to decorate, adapt and fit out a suitable premises. Whilst volunteers will be involved in this, we know that we will need skilled and experienced support for some tasks.
We are therefore seeking help from local trades people and suppliers who would be willing to donate time and/or material to help us as their contribution to helping the town.
The area we envisage such help include:
- Electrical infrastructure & services check, maintenance and extension*
- Plumbing services
- Minor building works, plastering and decorating
- Carpentry & joinery
- IT, computing and networking services and Internet access.
- Regulation compliance ie health & safety, disability access, fire safety etc.
Archives Management and Exhibit Creation
There are specific tasks we will require volunteers to do as part of setting up and maintaining the archives We are progressing an application to the HLF to fund this area, specifically to train volunteers is best practice archive management.
The tasks required to be performed include:
- Receiving and recording donations of artefacts
- Sorting and categorizing
- Analyzing and documenting the detail content
- Restoration and preservation actions where necessary
- Photographing, copying and digitizing relevant elements of each donation
- Indexing, filing, and storing
- Creating “copy” from them to go on exhibits and display boards
- Laying out display boards
- Creating electronic copy to allow display boards to be printed.
- Creating copy to go on Virtual Museum web site
- Creating web site displays
Where necessary training will be given, and support be will be available but enthusiasm is the main requirement.
Museum Operation
To open & run the museum on a daily basis, in addition to volunteers managing the Archive, we will need front of house volunteers in the museum gallery to meet, greet, extract donations and answer questions (or to take questions for someone else to follow up.
Opening times are envisaged to be 10:00am to 4:00pm so volunteers requires for 10 – 1 slot and 1 -4 slot each day we are open. The more volunteers we have on the rota the more days we can open.
If you would like to volunteer and help us create and run the Redditch Local History Museum, and the Historic Archives please call 07486 882181 or email volunteer@rlhm.uk
You can also register by filling in a Volunteering Form below. Please down-load it, fill it in and email it back to volunteer@rlhm.uk