Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are needed to help deliver the activities, act as welcomers or guides, take photographs, or promote events on social media.

Event volunteers

Maison Dieu event volunteers will play an important role in delivering a high-quality programme of events and activities inspired by the heritage of the Maison Dieu.

Planned activities include heritage, art and craft events, talks and exhibitions inspired by the history and heritage of the building.

Event volunteers will welcome and engage with visitors, including families, teenagers, adults, school and pre-school groups, older people, people with special educational needs and disabilities and people from diverse local communities.

Volunteers will work alongside Martin Crowther (Engagement Officer, Maison Dieu), local artists and heritage specialists to deliver a number of important roles including:

• Helping to create content for events
• Setting up events and resources
• Welcoming visitors and answering questions
• Ensuring a safe environment
• Delivering activities, including artefact investigation and art and craft
• Taking photographs and film of visitor engagement
• Completing simple evaluation with visitors
• Tidying up

Research volunteers

Research volunteers will play an important role in the Maison Dieu project researching stories relating to the building and the diverse range of people who’ve lived, visited or worked there over the centuries.

Information will be gathered from a wide range of sources, including Kent Archives, National Archives, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Dover Museum, local heritage collections, archaeological discoveries, family history records and the memories of local people.

This research will form rich content for new interpretation of the building through exhibitions, tours and events and for dissemination via talks and seminars.

The research team will include academics, graduates and other subject specialists (as well as non-specialists who’d like to learn new research skills).

What’s involved?

• Learning research skills, by working with skilled heritage researchers, through training and orientation visits to Kent Archives, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and local museums.
• Creating exciting interpretation and visual content for new interpretation at the Maison Dieu and on the project website.
• Sharing the products of this exciting research project at academic conferences, community history events, on the Maison Dieu website and via social media blogs.

 

If you are interested in volunteering or if your community group or school would like to get involved, please contact Martin Crowther, Maison Dieu Engagement Officer at martin.crowther@dover.gov.uk to find out more.