Celebrating Volunteers Week at Beningbrough Hall

Krystal Starkey

Volunteers Week is a national week held on the 1st-7th June annually, encouraging organisations to celebrate the year round contribution of their volunteers. The team at Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens say thank you to their National Trust volunteers, where over 150 people donate their time, experience and skills to Beningbrough across 25 different roles.

Sue Jordan, senior visitor experience officer at Beningbrough Hall said, “This next week is all about volunteers and what they do to support charities. Volunteers contribute to the day to day running of Beningbrough and a visitor’s experience. Even if you haven’t considered if the National Trust is for you, there are lots of opportunities available and you might find it’s not as you would first imagine.”

50 volunteers work in the hall as Visitor Experience Volunteers and more are welcome to join the team. The youngest volunteer at Beningbrough is 14, and she volunteers alongside her grandma. Another new recruit, Sarah Watts, volunteers alongside her other commitments as an international netball coach. The team join in conversations with visitors around the artwork on display, help with programmes like the creative writing workshops that are happening on Friday’s, and share the stories of the hall and the people who called it home.

Sue went on to say “Working with volunteers is a favourite part of my role. I thoroughly enjoy working with people from all walks of life and varying backgrounds, and they all come together in the same place to contribute to the same cause. It’s truly something special. You don’t need to have prior knowledge because we can offer training depending on which areas interest you. Above everything else we are looking for volunteers who are friendly and enjoy talking to a wide range of people.”

This week Beningbrough Hall will be saying thank you to their volunteers for the gift of time. If you’re interested to join the volunteer team in the hall see nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough, contact beningbrough@nationaltrust.org.uk or call 01904 472027.