Culture Volunteers - Helping out at Wightwick Manor
Our second group of D/deaf volunteers were at Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton, and were put to work in the gardens this time, helping James and Georgie move some snowdrops now that they have finished flowering but are still ‘in the green’.
Once James had explained what needed doing it was time to get kitted out. First thing was to grab hold of the tool that would make the hole.
Next, it was the gardening gloves …
… then it was a kneeler, and the all important bunch of snowdrops.
Then - to work!
Today’s volunteering wasn’t just about helping in the garden. Some of today’s volunteers agreed to be interviewed, sharing their thoughts about the morning’s activities and other volunteering experience they’ve had.
This feedback, along with other insights shared at previous visits, will help the team at Wightwick work out the next steps they can take that will make the house and gardens more accessible to people who are D/deaf, whether that’s as visitors or as volunteers. As one of our volunteers pointed out, it doesn’t have to be everything, you aren’t expected to change the world, just do the little things you can that will make a difference.
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The Culture Volunteer WM project was funded by Arts Council England and the DCMS. The project took place in the Black Country, Stoke and Birmingham. Culture Central led the project, with CBC responsible for delivery in the Black Country region
During the Culture Volunteer WM project, we were lucky to be able to work with the team at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre. There hadn’t been any volunteers at the theatre for roughly ten years, so it was big step to take for them to get them back on board. 71 people came to the recruitment days and there’s now a lovely team of 30 volunteers. The following film tells a little of that story …