3 June 2020
This week, 1 to 8 June, is Volunteer Week at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley, the institution writes in a press release.
‘They are the difference between a good experience and a great experience’.
This is just one observation this Volunteer Week 2020 about the huge and vital role that volunteers play in the life of the River & Rowing Museum each and every day. Last year, the Museum relied on more than 1000 hours of volunteer help just to enable it to continue to inspire visitors and make memories.
The volunteer heroes at the Museum range from those who offer the very warm Museum welcome – cheerfully greeting visitors as they step through the door – to those ‘behind-the-scenes’. The latter lend a much-needed hand to conserve and maintain the Museum’s displays enabling more and more families to enjoy the magic, for example, of making tea in Mr Toad’s caravan in The Wind in the Willows.
Other dedicated volunteers behind-the-scenes include the Museum’s Board of Trustees, all unpaid, who donate many hours to, as they say themselves, ‘giving back to their community’ and playing their part in maintaining the storytelling of the river. Most recently, the Museum welcomed three new Trustees – Scott Furlong, Moira Logie and Kenneth Nel – each of whom bring their own specialist expertise in the areas of collections, fundraising and digital respectively.
Scott Furlong has worked with museums and collections for more than 25 years, most recently as Director of Collections and Cultural Property at Arts Council England. Moira Logie has a community focus and a fantastic track record in fundraising, resulting from years with Sue Ryder and as Head of Fundraising for Katherine House Hospice. With a passion for rowing and the history of sport, Kenneth Nel has published his own book based on his experience in the digital marketing world. He now works as a digital consultant to companies, from start-ups to blue chips like 3M.
Museum Director Sarah Posey said: ‘As a registered charity with no government funding, the Museum’s volunteers are a very important part of our Museum family and we simply couldn’t open our doors each day without them. I’d like to take the opportunity of Volunteer Week to celebrate and pay tribute to the tireless work they do and to thank them very much for being such an integral part of our team’.
She continued, ‘As we work towards reopening, we’re going to need the help of volunteers more than ever which is why we’re currently working on expanding opportunities for volunteering with our Museum. Sign up for our enewsletter for further information and updates.’
To find out more and to register your interest as a volunteer, please email: museum@rrm.co.uk
Would you like to become a Friend of the Museum?
The temporary closure of the Museum due to the Coronavirus means that the Museum’s resources are under unprecedented strain. Director Posey said: ‘We are a charity, and our funding relies on our visitors and wonderful supporters, not government. You can help the Museum by becoming a Friend and benefitting from priority access on events, and discounts in the Café and Shop, knowing, at the same time, that you are helping us to secure the future of the Museum.”
Hear The Boat Sing 