Blog

Throughout my summer, I have decided to spend my time volunteering alongside the Insole family. It has been a wonderful experience and the staff and other volunteers that work here are all so kind and helpful. I think that this is a wonderful place to volunteer in as it offers great volunteer schemes, which helps me to gain transferable skills and knowledge, to help me in future jobs/careers. It is local to me, which makes it easy as a young person to access. It is also such a beautiful environment to work in.

My main jobs:

During my time in Insole court, I have done a range of different jobs such as helping in the gift shop and book shop down in the house. This has allowed me to not only get experience with using the till but has given me the chance to engage with my local community and improve my customer service skills.

When working in the house, I was given the opportunity to go on the audio tour (This House is a Stage) to help me learn more about the amazing history of the house and the Insole family. I would highly recommend this tour to those that are interested in learning more about the house! For more information, click here. One of the other volunteers also kindly gave me a short tour of the lower floor of the house, giving me a better understanding of the house and the history that it holds.

Additional opportunities:

The Insole family also gave me the chance to gain more experience through their one-off events. For example, I was allowed to help as a stewardess for the Everyman Theatre plays. This allowed me to gain confidence when talking to new people and gave me a better understanding of the court grounds. I was able to learn about how the events at insole court are run and saw how important it is to have volunteers help the amazing staff, at these busy events.

Insole court has also hosted a range of gorgeous weddings throughout the year in this beautiful location. I have had the chance to witness the behind the scenes of these events and even help with the setup of a few of them. I know volunteers who have worked at these weddings who have been able to learn so much from the experience. I look forward to being able to partake in more of these experiences.

During my time here, I was given the task to create an activity sheet that will engage the younger people in our community. This allowed the children to experience all the beautiful nature here in Insole court, as well as let them run around in the gardens to give their parents a break in the coffee shop. Whilst making the sheet, I was given the opportunity to speak to the lovely garden volunteers, who were kind enough to help me identify the different trees and plant life in the gardens.

Finally:

Overall, I have had a wonderful time at Insole court. My tasks have given me a variety of new and much needed skills that I can take forward with me. The staff and other volunteers were so helpful and kind to me throughout my stay. It was very fun to see the behind the scenes of different events and even be able to participate.