Free Volunteer Training to Celebrate Exeter’s Heritage

Exeter Community Centre (ECC) is running All’s Well, a project funded through Thriving Communities and supporting Social Prescribing in Exeter. Working in partnership with St Nicholas Priory and The Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust (DEMHT), ECC is offering opportunities for volunteers to develop skills in a number of ways and to feel the health and wellbeing benefits of engaging with the city’s heritage.

The All’s Well project aims to support volunteers to work as trail guides on a new St David’s Trail, or as Welcome hosts and object handlers at the Centre or at St Nicholas Priory. Volunteers will gain transferable confidence and skills in engaging with the public and working with local heritage and history. All’s Well will also help trainees connect, learn, engage and be active – all proven to help boost wellbeing. And the skills will look great on a job or university application.

History is all about stories; if you enjoy hearing, discovering and telling stories, this is a fantastic chance to develop your love of narrative and story-telling skills, and to get different voices heard as part of history.

All training is at the Exeter Community Centre on St David’s Hill (unless online is stated):

Monday 5 July 10 at 1pm OR Saturday 10 July 10 at 1pm: Confidence to Engage

  • Building confidence and skills for engaging with the public and sharing stories. This session is for ALL volunteers who have expressed an interest, whether deciding on Trail Guiding, Welcome Hosting or Curating/Object handling.

Monday 12 July at 6-8pm: ONLINE All’s Well values and culture on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

  • A 2-hour live session on Zoom to establish the project ethos and ensure clarity.  FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS (but there will be a stand-alone version if you can’t make this one).

Week beginning Monday July 19: an online Trail Guide course (with certificate) to do at your leisure

Sunday 25 July at 12.30-4.30pm: ‘Walking the Talk’ training (1) TRAIL GUIDES

Wednesday 4 August at 10am-1pm: St David’s Stories (2) –TRAIL GUIDES 

Saturday 7 August at 10.30am-1pm: Smile and Wave – WELCOME HOSTS 

Sunday 15 August at 10.30am-1pm: Street Wise session (3) TRAIL GUIDES (session led by Exeter Red Coats) 

Week beginning 30 August: trial St David’s trail sessions for St David’s TRAIL GUIDES

  • ECC will arrange with you when you are able to have a go at leading the trail with actual people!

Saturday 4 September 10am-6pm: BOOT CAMP for St David’s TRAIL GUIDES

  • An all-day intensive reduced version of the trail guide sessions. Come on this if you can’t make the other sessions and are up for hitting the ground running!

September (tbc): Object handling (1) and (2) DEMHTrust organising

11-20th September: HERITAGE WEEK!

  • St David’s Trails are launched; other activities at the ECC and SNP. 

If you would like to take part in the volunteering programme for All’s Well, email Project Lead Pippa Marriott on pippa.marriott@eccentre.org

 
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