How we work with volunteers
Have you been on a gallery tour at Reading Museum recently? If you have, then your tour was probably led by one of our trained Abbey tour guide volunteers.
Reading Museum has led a well-established, successful volunteering programme over many years. As part of the Reading Abbey Revealed project, we are recruiting at least 35 Abbey volunteers to help us deliver a range of activities leading up to the re-opening of the Abbey Ruins in June 2018. The voluntary roles are varied and wide-ranging including:
- helping research and add Abbey-related object information to our public catalogues
- assisting staff at public events and with family activities
- providing gallery and Reading Abbey ruins tours
- creating historical costumes
We already work with a number of young people, including university students, who volunteer to improve their career prospects. The Abbey volunteering programme has developed more opportunities, for people of all ages, and new, innovative ways to encourage people from across Reading to get involved.
Reading Museum advertises new volunteer roles on its own website and social media sites and through Reading Voluntary Action. Anyone interested in applying for a role is asked to complete a registration form and read our volunteer policy.
The full process is explained on Reading Museum's website under Get Involved. We use the role descriptions to assess applications and invite people in for informal interviews as part of our recruitment process.
Volunteers in action
Short-term paid placements
During the project, Reading Museum is offering a small number of paid placements to develop heritage and professional work skills. All of our previous Abbey interns have gone on to secure employment, some at heritage organisations.
During their time with us, our interns have helped the museum make better use of social media, added information about Abbey artefacts to our online catalogue, created information for the Reading Abbey Quarter exhibition, assisted with developing our retail offer, and set up a community research project with volunteers.
The next paid placements will be flagged up on Reading Museum's website and advertised by Reading Borough Council on the Jobs Go Public website.
Friends of Reading Abbey
The Friends aim to aid the preservation of the ruins of the abbey for the enjoyment of all, and to spread knowledge and public awareness of its history. You can find out more and how to join on the Friends of Reading Abbey website.