Government distributes £4.6m to support volunteering, including to TWAM consortium 11 May 2022

160 community organisations are sharing £4.6m to support 7,800 volunteering opportunities through the Government’s Volunteering Futures Fund. ACE has distributed the funding to organisations in arts, culture, sport, civil society, youth and heritage sectors. The programme especially aims to attract young people, disabled people, those experiencing loneliness or with other barriers to participation. One beneficiary is a consortium led by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, which has received £400k to bring a diverse volunteer base to nine cultural venues, and evolve inclusive volunteering practice, with some digital opportunities. The partners also include the BALTIC, Sage Gateshead, Norther Stage, and the Life Science Centre. TWAM Director Keith Merrin said “volunteering is essential to museums, galleries and cultural venues. We currently have many valued volunteers that support TWAM with a wide range of tasks from assisting at events to driving and maintaining our steam trains. In turn volunteers get a variety of benefits from the experience, from skills development to increased confidence to meeting new people. This project is particularly about reaching new people – those who don’t traditionally engage with museums, galleries or theatres.” Gov.uk, TWAM