As a former teacher with a passion to continue working with children and young people, Anne Eden tells us why she chose to offer her time as a volunteer at the Museum, and why she loves engaging with volunteers, visitors and staff across all areas of the site.
Anne Eden …
For the last 10 years I’ve been volunteering at the Weald & Downland Living Museum, alongside my husband, Tony and our dog, Denzel.
We can usually be found stewarding, helping and supporting visitors at the site. However, come the school holidays, I tap into my past career as a secondary school teacher and support the children’s activities.
We both started volunteering shortly after we retired and were keen to find a role that would offer a range of activities, challenge us and help us learn more about an area of Sussex we had no idea about, it’s history.
With the Museum’s great education and children’s programme, I felt that being part of this team would be a good fit after many years working with young people.
It wasn’t just the variety of activities that attracted me to the volunteering role, but the variety of people we would get to work with. Being a volunteer has enabled me to meet so many interesting people of different ages and backgrounds, whether that’s the staff, other volunteers or the general public.
The positive experience I’ve gained from not only being busy but from meeting so many different people every day is fantastic.
One of my most memorable moments here was when I first started volunteering, there was a day when somehow the sheep had escaped. Another member of staff from the office was hauled in to help rally the animals. I was dressed appropriately but the other lady’s outfit was ruined!
I have noticed that since the COVID pandemic, numbers of volunteers have dropped, which is such a shame. I’d really encourage anyone looking for a volunteer role to come and support the Museum. You get the chance to learn new things, engage with new people and gain a sense of wellbeing from being part of such a diverse and dynamic community. And having The Repair Shop team on site is a bonus too!
To find out more about volunteering at the Weald & Downland Living Museum click here.
