Culture, creativity and heritage makes Torbay a better place in which to live, work, learn and visit. Torbay Culture was set up with support from Arts Council England to provide strategic leadership for the local culture sector, and progress the cultural strategy which is focused around people and place.
SECTOR SUPPORT: VOLUNTEERING
Torbay Culture Ambassadors
Torbay Culture has set up the Torbay Culture Ambassadors programme to support arts, culture and heritage organisations and events across Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. Its purpose is to champion Torbay and its cultural scene, and to provide a ‘go to’ group of people for those organisations and events that require the valuable support of well-informed, positive volunteers.
How we can help your organisation
We want to help you do more. We aim to make it easier to find volunteers for your organisation when you have ad-hoc volunteer needs such as:
pop-up events and activities
festivals
large projects needing a short-term boost to volunteer numbers
a focus group or mystery shopper to review your project or event
wanting to raise the profile of events or programmes, particularly though word of mouth
or simply when you are in need of an extra pair of hands.
We recruit and develop a pool of Ambassadors for you to call on. Our Ambassadors have skills that are useful to you and are up-to-date on the cultural life of the Bay. They are positive advocates for all the activity here and they spread the word in their networks. All Torbay Culture Ambassadors subscribe to our Ambassador Agreement.
How to take part
To access Torbay Culture Ambassadors to support your organisation, there are three simple steps.
Contact us with details of your organisation and the volunteering opportunity you are offering. As our Ambassadors are an important part of Torbay’s cultural sector, this may also include invitations to attend previews and so on, as they can help to spread the word about events through their networks. We will also regularly ask around for any volunteer needs you may have, by email and social media.
We ask you to sign up to our Host Agreement which allows us to ensure that our Ambassadors are looked after and their expectations are met.
We will send your opportunity out to all our Ambassadors via our monthly e-newsletter, inviting them to contact you directly to take up your offer. Ambassadors will apply directly to you.
It is important to note that you will host the volunteering placement, which must be covered by your own policies, processes and insurances. We will ask you and the Ambassadors for feedback on the experience.
If you would like to take advantage of the Torbay Culture Ambassadors programme, please contact our Volunteer Co-ordinators, Laura and Anna, by emailing [email protected].
Volunteer toolkit
We have developed a toolkit to support Torbay’s cultural organisations that host volunteers in any capacity. This includes guidance on preparing your organisation to host volunteers, tips on recruitment and advice on what you can do to support your volunteers.