'I just wanted to remind you what a lovely name 'ART IN THE PARK' is. I walk in the park and I think, I walk in the park and feel the breeze. The nature inspires me and I write. I draw and do artworks from what I see in the park. I see art in the park; and I think of design' – Dr Jamileh Hafezian
Our volunteers do all sorts of things, from helping at events, being on the Board of Trustees, admin, publicity, working on the website and contributing ideas about our future.
Please get in touch with us on 01142686813 or email cassie@artinthepark.org.uk for more information.
We will arrange for you to come in for an interview and to discuss what kind of volunteering you would like to get involved in. There are lots of opportunities to try new things, work experience or develop your existing skills.
We will then ask you to come to a group induction where you will find out more about how we work, what projects we run and what policies our organisation runs by.
See how people are volunteering all over Sheffield by visiting www.sheffieldqualitytime.wordpress.com
We always need volunteers to come and help out in the office. Jobs include things general office tasks such as photocopying, to experience more involved things like keeping the website up to date, publicity and volunteer admin.
If you are interested in raising some funds for Art in the Park please get in touch! Ideas could be a sponsored run, holding an event, a fundraising night out, a cake sale… or anything else you can think of! Please get in touch with Cassie if you are interested: cassie@artinthepark.org.uk
We are developing our publicity here at Art in the Park. Opportunities include helping with our new e-newsletter, updating our event details online, organising our email contact lists, designing new posters and a new leaflet, helping with distribution, writing press releases and photography and film making. There is a lot to do and any big or small input is welcome! Please email Asha: admin@artinthepark.org.uk
I am currently studying MA Photography at Manchester Metropolitan University. Photography is my passion and it takes up most of my free time alongside my work with Art in the Park. At present I volunteer helping with general admin and the website. I have been involved with publicity and helped design new posters for Art in the Park recently. I also volunteer at projects, have ran a pinhole camera workshop for the No Limits Film Festival, and photograph some events for Art in the Park.
After starting my MA in October 2009, I felt like I also wanted to work more with people in an art role. I wanted to share my knowledge in photography and teach people the importance of the medium as well as get involved with all sorts of other arty projects! It's a fantastic way of meeting local artists and other volunteers who share my interests. Helping at the events is always fun and I always learn so many new artistic skills. Most of all, I like seeing the participants leave with a smile on their face!
I love sharing my knowledge of art with others and learning new things along the way. Volunteering with Art in the Park has given me a new love for community art, something I am now considering as part of my career for the future.
I decided to start volunteering for Art in the Park after graduating from my Illustration degree in 2007.The first project I volunteered for was the Christmas snowflakes and icicles. Despite the festive weather, I loved every minute! It was great to meet and make friends with other people who were interested in community arts. Both staff and volunteers made me feel more at home back in Sheffield and it was good to feel part of a team. It was also great to meet the artists and learn new artistic skills from talented artists.
A really good part of volunteering was how encouraging the charity was in the way of volunteer support and training. I attended a first aid course, a safeguarding children course, an interview for project assistant and worked as an assistant artist for the ‘Don’t be a Car Potato’ for South Yorkshire transport. I was also happy to have been given the chance to provide some illustrations for the handbook and website.
When I first started volunteering, I was working part time in a sandwich shop. This really wasn’t the sort of job I was after. Volunteering made me realise that community arts and working with young people was the sort of profession I would love to achieve.
At the moment I am a Youth Arts Worker for Charnwood Arts in Loughborough, Leicestershire. I work in an arts room for young people at risk of offending. I help young people with their art projects and social skills, it can be challenging but its really rewarding too and I am learning so much everyday.
I don’t think that I would have ended up where I am at the moment if I hadn’t decided to start volunteering. I am so glad that I did, not just because it led to jobs but also because I got to meet so many great people. I would like to say a big thank you to people at Art in the Park for letting me come and volunteer and making me feel so welcomed and valued!
I started volunteering for Art in the Park in 2006 while I was a student. I studied Geography (BA) at the University of Sheffield, a subject which inspired me to find out more about what was going on in my local community. Through volunteering, I met new people, explored local spaces and my confidence improved. My real passion lies in people and communities, and in empowering people to make changes themselves to improve their local environment, health and wellbeing.
In February 2009 I was employed as the Project Support and Admin worker for Art in the Park. This role included tasks such as monitoring and evaluating events, finance, research, volunteer and artist admin, and marketing and publicity plus anything else that cropped up on the way!
Whilst working for Art in the Park I was also part of the Frozac team, who put on several music nights around Sheffield, raising funds for different charities. Within it I helped co-ordinate the Treats and Beats café, serving homemade, tasty and ethical snacks to party goers! I also worked as a Health Trainer on the NHS Watch It program for overweight children. This was a really rewarding job and I particularly enjoyed supporting families to make healthier choices.
In July 2010 I moved back home to London to undertake a Masters degree in Food Policy/Food and Nutrition policy at City University.
I began working at Art in the Park in June 2010, 6 months after graduating with a Masters in Twentieth Century British History from the University of Birmingham. I had found it very difficult to get a job in the community sector having had no previous direct work experience. It was through the government's 'Future Jobs' scheme that I found the East Peak Project Assistant position at Art in the Park. This role would involve me working on the Villages of Poetry project taking free poetry and arts classes to Stannington, Penistone and Denby Dale within the East Peak District.
Whilst working at Art in the Park my role expanded to include a broad range of responsibilities including: working on the Broomhall Visual Improvement Project, updating the website, collating the monthly events email, maintaining the organisation's Facebook and Twitter profiles and a plethora of other publicity tasks.
After my initial 6 month contract with Art in the Park came to an end, my contract was extended for another two months until funding constraints finally made my role untenable.
In January 2011 I took on the role of Ruskin Park Fun Day Coordinator which was arranged through Friends of Ruskin Park who run the event in partnership with Art in the Park. This was a part time role lasting until July 2011. Whist organising Ruskin Park Fun Day I remained active at Art in the Park, helping out with publicity tasks and working to promote the Twitter account.
Whilst studying for a Media degree at Sheffield Hallam University I thought it would be useful to get some work experience. Therefore I undertook a volunteer work experience placement at Art in the Park in July 2011. My role included promoting the charity and developing their online presence, including using social media. Also, I developed and distributed publicity materials. But most of all, I enjoyed updating the Art in the Park website. The placement equipped me with the knowledge and skills to use different mediums to develop an organisation - also, it was great to be part of such a friendly and hard working team.
I wanted to help Art in the Park as a volunteer project assistant because I love the idea of brightening people’s lives by bringing art to everyone for free, but Art in the Park has done so much more to help me. I previously felt I had no real stake in Sheffield both as a student and a citizen having lacked the confidence to get involved with what was going on around me, yet Art in the Park has kick-started me into action. I’ve maintained the group’s online presence learning new web design and even language skills; this helped me gain a position on the board of the Sheffield student chapter of Article 25 (an educational charity which deals with disaster relief through design) as webmaster and social secretary. I’ve been launched into new situations promoting Art in the Park to vast crowds at the University of Sheffield volunteers fair or bodyguarding artists in the dead of night at a Guerilla art event, I've gained bags of confidence and have since enrolled myself in the University of Sheffield social enterprise labs, a program which encourages students to start their own social enterprises in order to help others. I’ve learnt loads from just a four week placement with Art in the Park, I’ve grown in confidence and most importantly I’ve had fun, the experience has been invaluable to me, it's opened up a whole world of opportunity and I’ve really enjoyed every second of it.
Having volunteered for a range of organisations since the age of sixteen I can say with some authority that Art in the Park provides one of the best and most diverse voluntary experiences around, and are successful at empowering and supporting their volunteers. Whilst my initial motivation for getting involved in Art in the Park in 2009 was to gain further experience working with young people my passion for art and creativity was quickly reignited. Since being involved I have assisted in open access activities in green spaces, poetry workshops in primary schools, consultation work, publicity and research. In addition I organised two collaborative projects between Art in the Park and No Limits Film Festival which involved film-making workshops and outdoor film screenings. In October 2010 I joined Art in the Park's board of trustees which involved attending bi-monthly board meetings, researching policies and procedures, and working with board members to set the strategic direction of the organisation. These meetings were always fun and friendly, and allowed me to gain further insight into the operations of a community arts organisation. Overall, volunteering for Art in the Park allowed me to meet new people, develop skills, discover hidden talents and gain paid employment within the arts and voluntary sector. None of this would have been possible had it not been for the support of Art in the Park staff who were always incredibly friendly, welcoming and enthusiastic about their work. I will always look to my experiences at Art in the Park as a source of inspiration for the work that I do in the arts and voluntary sector, and I am grateful for the firm foundation the organisation gave me in understanding community arts practice.