Current office volunteering opportunities:
Are you passionate about changing the way we treat animals? Do you want to help reduce damage to our environment? Do you want to get people to enjoy healthy vegan food that looks good and tastes great?
The Vegan Society makes veganism more accessible and an easily adopted approach by supporting individuals, policy and decision makers, caterers, manufacturers, health care professionals and the media.
Why do we need you?
Since being founded in 1944, we’ve been producing publications to educate vegans and non-vegans about our work. From our magazine The Vegan to our substantial leaflet collection. For almost 80 years, this collection has grown, painting a detailed history of The Vegan Society. From interviews with our founder, Donald Watson, to branded T shirts, there’s a huge range of historical artefacts. To ensure it’s available to future generations we need to store everything correctly and safely.
What does the role involve?
This project focuses on archiving, cataloguing, and securely storing our collection. We are aiming to have a comprehensive record of everything we have that pertains to the vegan movement in such a way that it can be easily accessed and added to in the future. As well as the physical archive itself, previous volunteer has developed a catalogue which will need adding to and updating. There will be a process of going through the archive, noting what we have, noting any gaps in our publication history, and following guidelines to organise and store items on a permanent basis.
There will be ongoing work to safeguard certain items, by creating digital backups of items and potentially the opportunity to support staff in turning the archive into an accessible online museum. There is also scope for other projects off the back of archiving, which we would welcome volunteer involvement in.
The archive will be located at our office in the Birmingham Jewelry Quarter and is likely to only be accessible via a staircase.
What training and support is available?
This role is supported by the Volunteering and Engagement Officer and our Head of Communications. The Volunteering and Engagement Officer will be the primary point of contact for volunteering, but the Head of Communications has knowledge which relates to this role and will be available for questions. We will provide training on the specifics of the role and endeavour to provide access to any other training as required by the task. There will always be a primary point of contact in the office to provide support and guidance.
What skills would be useful in doing this role?
- Appreciation of the confidentiality of the material you’ll be working with
- Ability to work independently and use initiative
- Experience of historical record keeping/use
- Excellent organisational skills
- An understanding of the vegan movement and a basic knowledge of the history of The Vegan Society
What does my availability need to be?
This is an office-based role that would require someone who could come in once a week on the same day and spend 4-6 hours in our archive. We will reimburse travel expenses from a reasonable distance, providing that volunteers retain receipts.
Whom does this role report to?
The Volunteering and Engagement Officer and the Head of Communications.
Who can I contact to find out more?
You can contact Kaya (Volunteering and Engagement Officer) on [email protected].
How do I apply?
Complete our Volunteering Application Form to apply today!
