Volunteer With Us
Volunteering
At Shaw House and the West Berkshire Museum we welcome people who want to get involved through volunteering. We encourage volunteers of all ages and background. No previous experience is necessary. If you want to see all our volunteer opportunities, please visit: https://www.westberks.gov.uk/volunteer
Shaw House
We have a variety of opportunities throughout the year including gardening, working in our cafe and helping out with events in the house and gardens. Just email cultureandlibrariesvolunteers@westberks.gov.uk or call or 01635 519533 and we can arrange for you to have a chat with staff about opportunities and meet other volunteers.
West Berkshire Museum
We have a great team of enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers who are vital to the running of the museum. They work alongside the professional staff in areas of the museum from the front desk to the collections store and learning service. To find out more about volunteering with the Museum, please email us at cultureandlibrariesvolunteers@westberks.gov.uk or call or 01635 519533
Opportunities available
West Berkshire Museum has an exciting opportunity for volunteers to be the public face of the museum. You will be asked to make visitors feel welcome and to make their visit run smoothly as possible.
The museum is a busy and well used public space; we are looking for volunteers who are enthusiastic and energetic and who would thrive in a team environment or able to work alone.
Museum – Visitor Services Volunteer:
This opportunity is to play a key role in supporting the front of house of the Museum.
Museum – Family Activities Assistant:
To play a key role in supporting the Learning & Participation Officer with the development and delivery of the museum’s family activities in school holidays.
To find out more, please visit: https://www.westberks.gov.uk/volunteer
Work experience
West Berkshire Museum
We welcome work experience or work placement requests from Further or Higher Education students as part of their studies. A placement in the museum service can provide useful practical experience for university students of many different subjects. We would ask that you commit to at least 3 months in order to have a viable project to work on and complete, though please note Mondays are not a working day at the Museum.
We are unable to take work experience students from secondary schools owing to the limited size of the team, health and safety considerations and the support younger students require for a worthwhile experience. We often work in different buildings and with different volunteers on various specialised aspects/areas of museum work and this set-up would not be conducive to a student work shadowing for a week or less.
To enquire please email museum@westberks.gov.uk
Shaw House
We have limited resources to offer work experience but, depending on staffing levels, we can occasionally accommodate a secondary school student for one weeks experience based in the café with some additional placements around the House.
To enquire please email shawhouse@westberks.gov.uk
Find out what its like to volunteer at the Museum
Meg Thomas
I am a retired GP, originally from Stockport.
Why do you volunteer?
I wanted to do something useful in retirement as well as having a change from my previous line of work.
How did you get involved with the museum?
My daughter studied the History of Art and did an internship for the museum, she suggested that I apply and I’m really glad that I did.
What’s your favourite thing about volunteering?
I enjoy seeing the children learn things about our history and dealing with general enquiries.
What do you do away from the museum?
I am interested in travel and learning Spanish. I love real ale and rabbits! I am also a letter writer for Amnesty International and enjoy spending time with my family, cycling, swimming and yoga.