Helping Hands Cumbria

03/07/2024

📣 Final Message from 📣

As the Helping Hands Cumbria programme comes to a close, we're reflecting on our journey from summer 2022 to spring 2024. This partnership brought together over 30 museums, theatres, arts centres, historic houses, and heritage sites across the county to break down barriers to volunteering and promote community wellbeing and workforce diversity.

Our project evaluation has revealed five key lessons on developing more inclusive volunteering programmes:

1️⃣ Personal relationships and face-to-face contact are vital for successful inclusive volunteering.
2️⃣ Barriers to inclusive volunteering often reside within host organisations, not the volunteers.
3️⃣ Creating a culture of care in volunteer management holds immense value.
4️⃣ Generalisations about best practices in volunteering are challenging to make.
5️⃣ Inclusive volunteering benefits all volunteers, not just those facing additional barriers.

We invite you to read the full report, explore our case studies, and learn more about the project at cumbriamuseums.org.uk/helping-hands.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of Helping Hands!



Arts Council England

05/06/2024

👇👇👇

Have you thought about volunteering but aren’t sure if we are the place for you?

We have made a short film with Helping Hands Cumbria that tells you all about volunteering with us.

Do give it a watch and get in touch if you would like to find out more. All our contact info is in our bio or just send us a message on socials.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OXq9MOUHiy8

03/06/2024

👏👏👏

13/05/2024

🌟 Final Farewell from 🌟

After an incredible two-year journey filled with meaningful impact, Helping Hands Cumbria bids a final farewell. Supported by a generous £490,000 grant from Arts Council England through the , and as part of the pioneering £7 million initiative launched by Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2021, our project has catalysed a shift in volunteering within cultural organisations throughout .

Together, we've achieved remarkable milestones, placing over 420 volunteers into a diverse range of roles across Cumbria. We've collaborated with more than 40 cultural and community partners, supporting best-practice in inclusivity and offering fantastic opportunities for people to enhance their skills and meet new people.

Our reach has been extensive, engaging over 825 participants and making significant strides in enhancing community well-being, developing diversity in teams, combating loneliness and isolation, and breaking down barriers to volunteering.

At our recent conference, "Part of the Family: Learning and Legacies from the Helping Hands Project," we explored the invaluable insights and experiences gained. This gathering was not just a celebration of our achievements but a platform for sharing the profound lessons learned about inclusive volunteer practice.

Experience the essence of our conference and the spirit of Helping Hands Cumbria, in this highlights video, which captures the vibrant energy in the room and profound insights shared at Sunbeams Music Trust, in February. In the coming weeks, we'll be sharing key learnings gleaned from the project, as our evaluation concludes.

Thank you, Cumbria, for embracing the vision of Helping Hands! Though this chapter may close, the legacy of inclusivity, collaboration, and community engagement will endure for years to come.

https://cumbriamuseums.org.uk/helping-hands/

26/04/2024

We continue to celebrate our Helping Hands volunteers this week, as the project comes to a close at the end of April..

Bailey is a student at Kendal College and volunteers at Kendal Museum. She has a disability which results in occasional seizures. In order to enable Bailey to volunteer at the museum, staff have been briefed about what to do in the event of a medical emergency. Bailey says that she feels very included here because the team have been so supportive.

"Because I have seizures and I’m disabled, and it’s nice knowing that despite them knowing that, they still don’t treat you differently just because you have something wrong with you. They are really good listeners and have been really accommodating. Staff are happy that you’ve volunteered your time to be here".

Discover more stories on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/

25/04/2024

Volunteers have been at the heart of the project and, as the project draws to a close, we're celebrating our volunteer stories!

Andrew volunteered for a work experience placement at Quaker Tapestry. He was asked to do some market research and benchmark prices for their room hire business, which was taking time to recover to pre-pandemic levels. After completing the research, he designed a new flyer to promote room hire at the museum which is now being distributed to potential customers. Andrew said that 'it was good to be given a task that matters, it made me feel involved and important. It helped to get me out of my comfort zone'.

Discover more volunteer stories - https://www.youtube.com/

24/04/2024

This week, we're reflecting on a few volunteer stories from the project.

Elwyn moved to Ambleside two years ago after he retired, and was keen to get involved in supporting the local community in some way, but wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

He found Helping Hands with an online search for local volunteering opportunities. He describes Helping Hands as the gateway to his current role working front of house at the The Armitt : Museum, Gallery, Library. After a lifetime of work in another sector, Elwyn is on a learning curve in the museum and he hopes to build more museum specific skills as he goes along. The museum is almost on his doorstep, and as a result of volunteering he feels like part of the Ambleside community.

Discover more stories, visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

23/04/2024

Rebecca is a volunteer art facilitator at Prism Arts. She supports learning disabled artists during creative sessions. Rebecca finished a Masters degree in January 2023 and chose to volunteer to gain more practical experience with the aim of finding paid work in the arts.

Rebecca found out about via the website, and after a conversation with one of the Inclusive Volunteering Leads was directed towards Prism Arts, enabling her to follow an interest in disability arts. She describes the benefits as help to get a foot in the door…it helps my mind every week to know I have a structure and a place to go. Support from Helping Hands helped her to find an opportunity which was relevant to her skillset and her needs and as a result she feels more confident in her ability to get a job in disability arts.

Rebecca has now secured a paid role at Prism Arts.

Discover more stories, visit our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/

22/04/2024

We continue to share inspiring volunteer stories from , as the project comes to a close.

Rick has been volunteering on the Art Gene allotment in Barrow for around ten weeks. He was referred to the project through social prescribing. The allotment has definitely helped Rick to make social connections – in the first week he discovered that one of his fellow volunteers was a cousin he hadn’t seen for fifty years! Rick has experienced a friendly welcome on the allotment, he says that everybody has been very kind and made me feel welcome.

"We all club together and help people out. Everybody’s really friendly, no matter what background you come from".

Rick intends to keep volunteering for as long as possible. It has made a real difference to him that Helping Hands has supported his volunteering by providing work boots and a stool, so that he can still do the weeding despite living with rheumatic pain in his knees.

For more stories, head to our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/

19/04/2024

As the project draws to a close, we are sharing a few of of our volunteer stories over the coming weeks.

For more stories, visit our YouTube channel.

Patrick volunteers at Kendal Museum. After leaving college he struggled to find a suitable job and his key worker at the job centre directed him to Helping Hands. Originally Patrick wanted to work in catering, but he found he couldn’t cope well in a busy and noisy environment. He’s interested in museums and history, and Kendal Museum has proved to be a relaxed, chilled place where Patrick is happy to spend time and can learn more about Arthur Wainwright and the Lake District.

While Patrick was nervous at the start of his placement, he found the museum to be very welcoming and the support from the staff at Kendal Museum and at Helping Hands has helped him to feel more confident in myself. Despite being unsure about taking a step into the unknown at first, Patrick welcomes the fact that volunteering has given me more structure in the week.

"I can plan my days which is really good".

https://www.youtube.com/

08/04/2024

Calling all volunteers!

Kirkgate Arts & Heritage holds a special place in our hearts at Helping Hands, and, over the past two years, we've had the privilege of working closely with the team, offering support, training and seeing first-hand the incredible impact they make in the Cockermouth community.

Volunteering at Kirkgate Arts and Heritage is not only a fantastic opportunity to give back, but it's also a chance to be part of something truly special.

Watch our video, get inspired, and join us in supporting Kirkgate Arts and Heritage! 🎬

📹 Naik Media

27/03/2024

Fancy volunteering at Windermere Jetty Museum?

Lakeland Arts is on the lookout for volunteers. As a volunteer you’ll get to see behind the scenes of their busy museums, working alongside experienced curators, skilled craftspeople and the wider Lakeland Arts team.

Head to www.helpinghandscumbria.org to explore the opportunities or get in touch with us.