Many thanks to all of you that attended the volunteer forum on the 7th October in the stables. For those of you that were unable to make it, we covered the following points:
- Volunteer survey - 43 volunteers completed the survey this year. Thanks to those of you who completed the survey. The results are featured in detail above as well as in charts located at the end of the newsletter.
- Volunteer portal/website - Beth Bishop outlined the new website, which is in development with the assistance of a focus group of Palace volunteers. The website will enable volunteers to sign up to rotas, keep in touch with the latest news via a blog, and find training materials and updates. Ultimately this will replace the volunteer newsletter.
- Staff updates - New staff were introduced. Kate, Miranda, Lucy and Sian gave updates from their areas. It was confirmed that Pauline McCormack’s secondment as Community Development Officer ends on 31 March 2015. The volunteer administration will be covered by Lauren Cox, Administrator, and Sian will take over the meetings with the volunteer reps.
- Restoration - Sian outlined the next steps with our lottery bid. We will be submitting on 28 November 2014, and then next year we will hopefully be able to develop our project in more detail. The project will tackle exterior repairs to the Tudor quadrangle, provide a shop/orientation centre and exhibition space in the north wing of Tudor quadrangle, site interpretation, improved paths, tree planting, lots of talks, tours and opportunities for volunteer involvement.
- Visits to other sites - The overwhelmingly most popular option was an annual visit by coach to a site that offers a garden and historic house or visitor experience. In the first year we’ll look at somewhere like Wisley or Great Dixter. Volunteers said they would be happy to make a nominal contribution to cover transport costs. We’ll be in touch with further information but will aim to organise a trip for May or June next year. In addition to this staff may well organise smaller trips to London sites accessible by public transport.
Next year's Volunteer Forums have been scheduled, so please check the Calendar to RSVP.