38. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
• One of the worlds largest Independent Museums
• An educational Charity
• 10 Museum Sites, 36 Historic Sites in total over 7
square miles
• 200 members of paid staff
• Based in a World Heritage Site, The Ironbridge Gorge
• Around 500,000 visitors per year
39. Volunteering at Ironbridge
400+ regular volunteers
Corporate Volunteering-1000+ people
Great range of ages-16 up to 90
Opportunities for young and unemployed people
Monthly projects/Regular placements
A better Museum thanks to their efforts
40. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Why Volunteer?
This is the key to getting and keeping the right people
-Social interaction
-Gain skills and experience
41. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Demonstrate
Guide
Research
Maintain
Support
Help us to add to and deliver an excellent level
of service
42. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Where do we find them?
Newspaper Articles
Word of Mouth
Staff
Volunteers
Visitor interest
Volunteer Centre
43. Volunteering at Ironbridge
To become a volunteer at Ironbridge:
Application
It doesn’t need to be too formal,
References
this is a volunteer role, not a job. Interview
BUT it does need to be structured.
Placement
Induction
Monitoring
44. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Getting the Right people
Role Descriptions- know what you want before you recruit, think
about things which could help your organisation, but seem a long way off-
could a volunteer get you there?
Interview-get to know your volunteer, recruit carefully, and specifically
for the role-only place someone if they are the RIGHT person
Monitoring-keep talking to your volunteers keep them informed,
give them goals let them know outcomes they can expect to get from their
role.
45. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Building Roles
A volunteer role should benefit all parties
Always think of the ‘BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME’
Think wider than day to day,
WHAT SORT OF PERSON DO YOU REALLY NEED?
46. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Justyna Gasinska
20 year-old Polish student
Currently working weekends in a
factory
Studying Business Administration at
college, evenings only
Would like to have an office job but
needs experience Rob Davies
59 years old
Lives locally
Recently retired
Misses work and the contact with
others
Feels he has skills to give
Different types of Volunteers
47. Volunteering at Ironbridge
RETAINING YOUR VOLUNTEERS
Benefits: Free entry
Quarterly Newsletter
Monthly coffee mornings and events
Free ticket to events
Free parking
Discount in Museum Shops
Lunch
Access to training
A friendly, welcoming atmosphere!
48. Volunteering at Ironbridge
DEALING WITH ISSUES
Be prepared
Recruit the right people into the right role
Be open to change
Have a procedure in place
Follow it!
Be open and honest
& Most importantly, be nice!
49. Volunteering at Ironbridge
Most Importantly…
Get to know your volunteers – the better you
know them the more they will want to help.
Remember that they want to help, give them the
opportunity.
Show appreciation - Say thankyou!
50. The IRONBRIDGE GORGE MUSEUM TRUST
Lucy Andrews-Manion
01952 601044
lucy.andrews-manion@ironbridge.org.uk
