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Open Day Volunteers
Organisation Details
Elizabeth Gaskell's House
Activity type: Culture, Heritage, Museums
Stellify Award: This opportunity is part of 'Make a Difference'
Organisation Description: Elizabeth Gaskell's House in Manchester is the former home of the famous author and her family. Her novels include Mary Barton, Cranford, North and South, Ruth and Wives and Daughters and are enjoyed on television, stage and radio.
This beautifully restored home has spectacular period rooms, villa garden and a tea room for visitors to enjoy. We host a year-round programme of special events and activities and our much loved book shop sells a range of new and second hand books.
This beautifully restored home has spectacular period rooms, villa garden and a tea room for visitors to enjoy. We host a year-round programme of special events and activities and our much loved book shop sells a range of new and second hand books.
Description of role: Elizabeth Gaskell's House is a historic and literary house dedicated to the life and literature of Elizabeth Gaskell, one of Manchester's most important writers.
We are a small, independent charity and have a small staff team. Because of this, we rely on volunteers to help us in a variety of different ways, but particularly on our open days.
We open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 11am-4.30pm. Volunteers help us in 3 different roles on these days:
Front Desk Volunteer - Welcoming visitors and selling tickets, as well as answering any queries from visitors. This is a great role to learn customer service skills, how to use ticketing software, and cash handling / using a card machine.
Tea Room Volunteer - Working in our Tea Room and Gift Shop, selling hot and cold drinks, snacks and gift items. This is a great role to gain experience in customer service, particularly in a catering environment, as well as cash handling and using a card machine.
Room Steward Volunteer - Talking to visitors in our Period Rooms and answering their questions about the history of the House. This is a great role to gain confidence in public speaking. Please note, due to demand we currently ask that volunteers wanting to do this role also train on the Front Desk and/or Tea Room.
You can volunteer for one or all of the roles above, and we offer different shift patterns depending on your schedule so we can be very flexible about when you come in to volunteer. We also have the opportunity to do Micro Volunteering, where you volunteer for an agreed shorter time period, so if you're not sure about committing long-term, this could be an option for you.
We also offer the opportunity once you're trained to get involved with other areas such as helping with weddings, school visits and group tours. We try to offer as many training and social activities as we can too, so this is also a great opportunity if you're looking to meet new people as well as learn new skills.
We are a small, independent charity and have a small staff team. Because of this, we rely on volunteers to help us in a variety of different ways, but particularly on our open days.
We open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 11am-4.30pm. Volunteers help us in 3 different roles on these days:
Front Desk Volunteer - Welcoming visitors and selling tickets, as well as answering any queries from visitors. This is a great role to learn customer service skills, how to use ticketing software, and cash handling / using a card machine.
Tea Room Volunteer - Working in our Tea Room and Gift Shop, selling hot and cold drinks, snacks and gift items. This is a great role to gain experience in customer service, particularly in a catering environment, as well as cash handling and using a card machine.
Room Steward Volunteer - Talking to visitors in our Period Rooms and answering their questions about the history of the House. This is a great role to gain confidence in public speaking. Please note, due to demand we currently ask that volunteers wanting to do this role also train on the Front Desk and/or Tea Room.
You can volunteer for one or all of the roles above, and we offer different shift patterns depending on your schedule so we can be very flexible about when you come in to volunteer. We also have the opportunity to do Micro Volunteering, where you volunteer for an agreed shorter time period, so if you're not sure about committing long-term, this could be an option for you.
We also offer the opportunity once you're trained to get involved with other areas such as helping with weddings, school visits and group tours. We try to offer as many training and social activities as we can too, so this is also a great opportunity if you're looking to meet new people as well as learn new skills.
Skills / qualities associated with the role: Customer Service, Oral Communication Skills, Practical Skills, Public Speaking, Team Working
Are volunteer expenses available?: Yes
Duration of role: Ongoing / Long term
Opportunity times: Wednesday AM, Wednesday PM, Thursday AM, Thursday PM, Sunday AM, Sunday PM
DBS required: Off
Can reasonable adjustments be made regarding additional needs?: Yes
Is this organisation part of the Sports Volunteering Scheme (SVS)?: No
Minimum hours commitment: 3 hours per week
Location:
84 Plymouth Grove
Manchester
M13 9LW