Engage in Gloucester – Volunteer Makers Launch
Volunteering in Gloucester is getting an overhaul thanks to a new website aimed at making it more accessible, easier to find out about, and more rewarding.
Gone are the days when you could only volunteer if you had lots of free time and could commit to volunteering at a specific location each week.
Now volunteering can be done on a flexible basis, or from a distance and even take as little as five minutes thanks to the new Engage in Gloucester Volunteer Makers website.
The website is geared towards matching potential volunteers to a wide range of volunteering challenges from the Heritage, Cultural and Arts sector.
Matches are based on the amount of time a volunteer has to give and the skills and interests that they may have, or even wish to develop.
Opportunities range from the chance to help out for a day doing gardening and grounds clearance to more regular placements such as conservation and restoration or guiding and welcomer roles.
It is intended that the many one off or short term opportunities means volunteers can dip in and out of different roles allowing them to build up a variety of skills and will help people fit volunteering into busy lives.
The website funded by Arts Council England and developed by Gloucester City Council and Gloucester Heritage Forum also gives people the ability to review volunteer opportunities and recommend them to others.
Councillor Lise Noakes, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, said: “Why not become a volunteer in Gloucester? We have an aspiration to move Gloucester towards a City of Culture with our Heritage at the very heart. But we cannot do this without help.
“A strong volunteer network will help us achieve that ambition but volunteers will also gain so much from helping out – from meeting new friends, to working with a great bunch of like-minded people, to knowing that whatever time you do give will make such a difference to this great city of ours.”
The website will be officially launched on Sunday, September 2 at the Heritage Hub, Gloucestershire Archives. The Mayor of Gloucester Cllr Joanne Brown and the Mayor’s Consort Cllr David Brown, along with the sheriff of Gloucester Cllr Howard Hyman, will be volunteering at the hub from 10am – 12pm.
There will also be a chance to meet and talk to volunteers from across the city about why they volunteer and how their volunteer hours are helping the city grow and develop.
For more information about the site visit http://EngageinGloucester.VolunteerMakers.org