As National Volunteers’ Week begins, we would like to take this opportunity to celebrate and thank those who give their time so generously to support Keswick Museum.
At the end of 2025 we finalised our Access All Areas project, during which we added many new faces to our museum family. Since then we have continued to create a supportive, friendly hub for volunteers where they help out in many different roles; collections, photography, gardening, welcoming visitors, research, learning and helping with the many events that take place within our walls.
Each department wanted to provide a specific thank you to their team of volunteers.
As a Learning Team we are so thankful for all the volunteers who have helped set up for school sessions and craft activities, particularly anyone who has washed paint brushes at the end of busy craft days. Our Stay and Discover volunteers have been great each week at stepping in to all sorts of roles whenever we need them – but most of all when our singing needs a boost!
Steve (learning coordinator)
The collections are the heart of our museum and we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers. We’ve had two big collections projects recently where volunteers have been essential to making sure we know what we have and where it is. They have made the collection easy to use and have created exhibitions to share what they have found out. A huge thank you to our collections volunteers for everything they have done and continue to do!
Nicola (curator)
Special credit is due to our small but dedicated group of front of house volunteers, who quite literally keep our doors open! 7 days of the week and almost every day of the year, they’re here to offer a warm welcome our visitors, to help out in the museum shop and to share their endless knowledge and enthusiasm about Keswick. (They also drink a lot of tea and eat a lot of biscuits….but they earn their keep!).
Many of these volunteers have been with us for many years and have supported the museum as visitors, Friends or residents of Keswick for even longer. We are incredibly lucky to have them week in, week out – they make this place a wonderful place to work.
Grace (museum support lead)
Thank you to all the volunteers who support Keswick Museum, the wide variety of roles undertaken and their dedication and enthusiasm for working as part of our team is very heartwarming – their contribution enables us to continue to provide engagement and learning to visitors and Keswickians alike. I am always astonished by the range of skills and experience the volunteers bring from previous jobs, and what a pleasure it is seeing them enjoy their volunteering here at the museum.
Jane (manager)
Every Volunteer Coordinator will say they have the best volunteers, but I would have to say that mine are the best and a fantastic bunch.
Some help weekly, some drop in and help when they can, some help on specific occasions. Some help more than one department and some like to come in and concentrate on a particular area or project. All are valuable members of the Keswick Museum team and we thank everyone of them for keeping our doors open for the public to enjoy the varied history and geology of Keswick and its parishes during this last year.
Laura (volunteer coordinator)
If you are interested in volunteering at the museum, we have some available spaces. Please see our Volunteering page for further details. We’d love to meet you!
