Museum’s volunteering programme has been recognised as a leader in its field.
Staff at the world-famous Ironbridge Gorge Museum, which records the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, are celebrating their latest accolade. The Trust responsible for running the Shropshire museum has beat off stiff competition to win the Arts, Culture and Heritage category at the prestigious Charity Awards Ceremony at Grosvenor House Hotel in London for their World Class Volunteering Project supported by Arts Council England.
The award was presented to Anna Brennand, Deputy Chief Executive and Traci Dix-Williams, Director of Operations, at the Trust by one of England’s best known pop artists, Sir Peter Blake. The award recognised how the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has become the leader in innovatively recruiting and retaining a diverse range of volunteers in the cultural sector. With over 400 active volunteers the museum provides a blue print on how to run volunteer programmes and has supported over 70 other organisations to develop their own volunteer programmes.
Barrie Williams, the Trust’s chair, paid tribute to the work of museum staff. “The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has long recognised the value of volunteering to not only the organisation but also the volunteers themselves, and it is wonderful that we have been able to help so many other organisations run effective and beneficial volunteer programmes. We are confident that winning this award will further highlight the important contribution that volunteers can make to cultural organisations and also help people understand the considerable personal development opportunities that are available to individuals who volunteer.”
The Charity Awards have been run for the last 13 years by Civil Society Media, publishers of Charity Finance, Fundraising and Governance magazines and are regarded as the sector’s most prestigious excellence recognition scheme. The Trust was shortlisted from hundreds of entries in the Arts, Culture and Heritage category. It was selected for ‘World Class Volunteering’ a ground-breaking project designed to significantly increase the number and diversity of people volunteering at both Ironbridge and other museums across the West Midlands.
