Volunteering

Barnsley Museums Volunteers

Volunteers help us maintain our gardens and parkland, offer visitors a friendly welcome and uncover hidden gems through research. Volunteers help take us to the next level and we have a range of volunteer opportunities that can suit you and your commitments.

What do you gain from volunteering?

People volunteer with us for many reasons, including improving their health, gaining new skills, meeting new people, and contributing to something they love about Barnsley. You get to do this in beautiful places supported by friendly, knowledgeable staff.

What do our volunteers say

“I started volunteering when I was recovering from both a physical and mental illness. Volunteering with the museums helped me to carry on recovering and gave me an outside interest which indulged my love of history.” - Volunteer Quote

“To gain confidence, get back out there, engage my mind and meet new people – while enjoying local culture.” - Volunteer Quote

"I would really like to thank you and all the staff and other volunteers at the gallery over the last year. This has given me experience in communicating and engaging with the public, working to set up displays, recording visitor comments and generally ensuring people's visits to the gallery were an enjoyable one." – Student Placement Volunteer

"The volunteering experience was great fun, the staff at the site really are great to work with." - Volunteer Quote

Who can volunteer?

If you can bring enthusiasm, we will work with you to try and find a solution or signpost if we cannot. We do not ask for an application but will want to find out more about you so we can find the best volunteering role. We normally start by having a chat about your interests and then go from there.

We're proud to support local schools and colleges in offering placements across our sites. Supporting students from a range of course backgrounds to gain skills and experience for work and education.

We welcome those looking to use corporate volunteering days through their employers to give back and get involved. It can be a great way to team build.

What kind of roles do we have?

Availability of roles can vary based on how many volunteers we have at a given time, but the roles we offer are;

• Gardening/ Parkland volunteering
• Visitor welcome volunteer – speaking to visitors and ensuring they have a great visit
• Archival research volunteering
• Digital volunteering – volunteering remotely from your home
• Project specific roles
• One-off opportunities – examples include bio-blitz days or hedge-laying days
• Corporate volunteer days (Employer Supported Volunteering)

Where can you volunteer?

Volunteering happens at all five of our and digitally. We also support and signpost to other volunteer opportunities. These include Wentworth Castle Gardens, led by the National Trust and the Maurice Dobson Museum in Darfield.

How to become a Barnsley Museums volunteer

We welcome the opportunity to partner where we can. Please get in touch if you think we can help. Please email museumvolunteering@barnsley.gov.uk, call 07500 075483 or speak to us on your next visit.

We welcome the opportunity to partner where we can. Please get in touch if you think this might be something of.

Visit Barnsley Museums Accessibility for more information on our approach to access.