Awards for All
Mill of Benholm has a new and exciting opportunity to join this
team of volunteers, made possible by funding from Awards for All.
Would you be interested in working with these trainees to
develop their craftwork skills? We are able to resource a range of
crafts according to the specialist skills of volunteers. We would
like the trainees to be learning skills from a wide range of
crafts, such as basketweaving, rug making, spinning, batik and any
other crafts you may have a skill in.
Mill of Benholm could purchase the specialist equipment and
materials required for you to teach your craft and can
provide the work areas for these from Monday to Saturday. They may
also be able to assist with the training you may require. This
opportunity is the chance to make an invaluable contribution
to the lives of trainees and to this exciting community
project and help it reach its full potential over the years to
come.
Volunteers are often able to develop
innovative income generation schemes which provide our
trainees with more diverse training and
work experience.
The trust needs to establish a number of reliable income
streams to build the capital required for sustainability.
Each and every one of our volunteers significantly supports an
element of this project which would not have been possible without
them.
YOU can make a difference, for example;
- Join us as a 'MEMBER' to meet, share ideas and work
with like minded local folks organising fundraising
events.
- Pick up a Membership form from the tearoom or download one
from the website.
- The tearoom could be open longer each day and also on Sundays
given the support of a few more dedicated volunteers. You could
start by joining the team for a few hours each week.
- Our shop serves as a multi-purpose room needs and could
itself be used as a small group venue.
- The Horticultural Supervisor needs help in maintaining and
developing the gardens.
- The meadow slopes although sheltered are too steep for our
trainees but the soil is beautiful and facing south
they would provide a long growing season if terraced
by energetic locals wishing to have an allotment here at Mill
of Benholm.
- The Saturday Arts/Drama/Crafts and Sciences workshop group
welcomes new people interested in running activities
for families (contact the Secretary Natasha
Hepburn Secretary@millofbenholm.org.uk
for further details).
- We could open the upper garden area as a plant centre if a
small group of local people were to establish a rota of opening
times perhaps beginning with Saturday mornings.
- There are opportunities for artists in residence to hold
classes or begin the development of a sculpture trail along one of
the walks.
- Anyone with a specialism in the identification of living
species could help in the audit of biodiversity. We need
expert advice on developing the meadow slope plants
to support the existing butterfly population.
- There is need of a volunteer interested and able to
maintain the Victorian mill machinery and the horticultural
machines.
- People prepared to put their energies behind their ideas and
actively support the development of any one of a number of
innovative income generation schemes to help the charity become
self sustaining.
- We need some muscle in the grounds and gardens on tasks ranging
from digging and drainage to fencing.
- Retired persons keen to pass on their skills to the next
generation could run classes here on anything from knitting,
stitchwork, weaving and spinning to drystone walling and
basket making.
- One volunteer is working to develop a computer facility he
teaches computer classes in basic office skills and would
appreciate some additional support.
- There is need of a education/schools pack to support school
visits, could you contribute to developing these?
- Would you like to offer one day a week to join a team and
schedule of presenters qualified to operate the mill and
explain the workings to the public?
- Become a member of the trust to support our work and contribute
to developments.
- Members with appropriate background knowledge, skills and
dedication are annually invited to join the board as
directors.
- Volunteers interested in joining us could be provided with
specialist training.
Our youngest volunteer set up the computer network in the
trainee rest room during his school holidays.