Volunteering-National Days

International Volunteer Day - Hunters and Gatherers

- 8 min read

Today is International Volunteer Day. We have over 400 dedicated volunteers who support the trust in many ways, from working with our collections, to running Make Do and Mend sessions, maintaining our gardens and giving our visitors a warm and friendly welcome.

On #InternationalVolunteerDay, we would like to introduce one of our newest volunteer projects - Hunters and Gatherers.

A volunteer staging an object for photography so it can be digitally audited in the collection

Hunters and Gatherers is a unique project funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund. The team is working with objects, volunteers and local communities to share diverse stories relating to our collections, assess the most effective approach to audit them and identify any gaps.

Volunteers working to find object stories and audit the collection

The project is split between Data Hunters, who are hunting for objects in our collections related to both immigration and Basingstoke, and Story Gatherers, who are researching the social history around these objects.

During the project, the team will develop two exhibitions, both co-created with local communities. In 2024, we will celebrate Black History Month with an exhibition showcasing the vibrant and diverse communities that enrich Basingstoke and in the following year, will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth with a brand new exhibition.

The Data Game

Data Hunting introduces a fresh, engaging approach, motivating people to inventory and audit our stored museum collections. Competing in one of three teams, hunters earn a point for each object successfully audited and points mean prizes!

Winners of the trial round! They've opted for a mouth-watering team supply of Millie's Cookies to celebrate

This is a great opportunity to engage with collections management whilst also helping us develop volunteering in a new way.

So far...

13 Hunter volunteers over the life of the project with eight currently in post

Over 1283 objects inventoried

742 locations updated

171 new records created

18 objects added to online collections

5 story gatherer volunteers researching history of immigration in Basingstoke.

Keep an eye on Culture on Call for updates and if you would like to find out more about volunteering at Hampshire Cultural Trust, follow the link below.

Volunteer: Data Hunters and Story Gatherers
<table cellspacing=“0”> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Job Title:</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Volunteer – Data Hunters & Story Gathers</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Salary:</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Voluntary position - Unpaid</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Location:</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Chilcomb House, Winchester</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Hours:</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Trial: 2 set days + further volunteer days as necessary</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Type of Contract:</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Volunteer</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><strong>Do you want to help us change the way we look after our collections?</strong></p> <p>We are looking for individuals to support our NLHF funded ‘Data Hunters and Story Gatherers’ project. This is an exciting opportunity to trial of a new and fun way to inventory our stored museum collections.   As a Data Hunter you will compete against other teams to inventory and photograph our historic objects.</p> <p>You will then take part in the Documentation Challenge where you will be tasked with updating the data on the objects your team successfully hunted. Beat the other teams by scoring points along the way, remembering points mean prizes! </p> <p>This is a great opportunity to engage with collections management whilst also helping us develop volunteering in a new way.</p> <p><strong>A bit about you</strong></p> <p>We are ideally seeking individuals between the age of 18 – 40 but open to applications from all. All training will be given as required. </p> <p><strong>What it’s like to volunteer with us</strong></p> <p>At Hampshire Cultural Trust we have a vision to create inspirational culture experiences that enrich and transform lives. We manage and support 24 attractions across Hampshire and deliver county-wide outreach programmes that bring great culture to local communities. We also deliver a diverse range of wider social impact initiatives targeted at those who are most vulnerable or disadvantaged and who would not usually have access to arts and culture.</p> <p>We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and a culture that actively values difference. We recognise people from different backgrounds and experiences bring valuable insights to the workplace and enhance the way we perform and work. Our levels of employee engagement are high and our organisational culture positive.</p> <p>The benefits of working for us</p> <ul> <li>Access to our Mental Health First Aiders</li> <li>Opportunities to learn, develop and progress with industry leading experts</li> <li>Free tea and coffee in all our venues</li> <li>Team Card - Free access to our fee paying venues and discounts across café and retail.</li> </ul> <p><strong>As we will be looking for 10 individuals initially selections will be based on creating a varied cohort. Should you not be successful for the initial trial we will retain your information for involvement in future stages of the project.</strong></p> <p>To apply please fill in the application form with your details and interest in the project.</p> <p>To find out more about us visit our website <a href=“http://www.hampshireculture.org.uk”>www.hampshireculture.org.uk</a> and <a href=“https://careers.hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/”>https://careers.hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/</a></p>
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Hampshire Cultural Trust

From museums to galleries to arts centres, we manage and support attractions across the county, welcoming over 740,000 people each year. Our charitable purpose is changing lives through culture.
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