Fund aims to attract more tourism volunteers
SOME of Tyneside’s favourite attractions are set to benefit from a £400,000 funding boost that aims to get more volunteers involved in making them a success.
A consortium led by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, which runs nine museums and galleries in the area, is celebrating its share of a £4.6m Government ‘levelling up’ pot that will help support, in total, more than 7,800 community volunteering opportunities across the country over the next two years.
Here, the idea is to recruit around 650 volunteers from under-represented groups, who are set to reap rewards too through making a difference in their communities. News of the award comes after a recent appeal for people to return to local attractions following losses of around 50% in visitor numbers due to Covid. In a bid to increase footfall, several formed a collective, known as Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues.
Besides TWAM, which runs nine museums and galleries, the members of NGCV are Dance City; Life Science Centre; Live Theatre; Northern Stage; Seven Stories; Theatre Royal and Tyneside Cinema plus Baltic and Sage Gateshead. The award will mean venues can set up diverse and inclusive volunteer programmes.
The £400,000 award is from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and delivered by Arts Council England. TWAM director Keith Merrin said the funding will help the venues “to provide opportunities that will enrich the skills, experiences and wellbeing of the volunteers who participate and also bring more diverse perspectives and ideas into our cultural venues”.
He added: “This project is particularly about reaching new people – those who don’t traditionally engage with museums, galleries or theatres.”
Darren Henley, chief executive officer of Arts Council England, added that the investment will enrich areas and help increase health and well-being. “There’s an abundance of evidence to show that volunteering can be a key factor in helping people lead happier lives,” he said.