Stories
Volunteering at Doncaster Minster
Doncaster Minster is probably not the first place you would think about if you were considering becoming a volunteer, but in fact Doncaster Minster is home to a number of projects and activities that aim to be at the heart of the regeneration of Doncaster. In fact the Minster has an important role to play by maximising the cultural, heritage and tourism opportunities for Doncaster, and developing opportunities for people of all ages in education, training and personal development. There are currently around twenty volunteers at the Minster involved in a variety of work; Brian Furniss and Eddie Cowan, who are both volunteer stewards spoke to the Volunteer Centre about what their role entails and how they came to be Minster Volunteers.
Brian explained a bit about the role of Steward. “Its our job to welcome visitors when they arrive, we provide information about the Minster, talk about it’s history and let people know what is happening here at the moment. I have always been interested in history, and I became interested in volunteering here after talking to my dentist who happens to be one of the Curates" he says. “Being a volunteer here gives me a chance to personally share my knowledge about the history of the place with the people that come here. People visit the Minster for a variety of reasons. Some obviously come to worship, and some come because they enjoy the peace and atmosphere of the place. Quite a few people come with their children and I think that having someone here who can share their knowledge about the Minster makes their visit much more interesting.”
Eddie has an interest in Doncaster generally, and has volunteered at the Minster since January 2008. Eddie said “I found out about volunteering here via the German Society that my wife and I are members of. I decided to become a volunteer because I thought it would give me an opportunity to talk about local Doncaster culture, particularly to people visiting the town for the first time, maybe, even visiting England for the first time. I agree with Brian that people definitely appreciate having someone here who can provide information, answer questions and give a bit of a local perspective. It’s not all about just giving information though, quite often, people come into the Minster in times of trouble and hardship. At these times, our role can be quite different, we feel that we can really help by just listening and, where we can, signposting people to those who can offer help and guidance.
Debbie Price is the Minster’s Heritage Access Worker and it is her brief to encourage volunteers to get involved. She sees volunteering as a “work in progress” and would like to see Doncaster Minster open to the public every day. "When I first came here, I thought that the most effective way of recruiting volunteers would be to advertise the things that volunteers can do at the Minster, so I sent letters out and visited as many local churches and societies as possible. A couple of years later on we have a great team of people and now the most effective advertising campaign we have is the volunteers themselves. They are the people that members of the public see when they visit and their enthusiasm for volunteering is the reason more and more people are getting involved."
Anyone wanting to volunteer at Doncaster Minster should contact Doncaster Volunteer Centre on 01302 363818 or visit www.do-it.org.uk to find out what’s currently available.
