Volunteering at Dartington

For resources for current voluneers click here

Opportunities to Volunteer

The Trust is fortunate to have the support of volunteers who assist in various ways with its charitable programmes. If you are interested in volunteering in any of these areas, or if you have particular skills which the Trust may be able to utilise, please click here to contact us. Once you have contacted us, you should expect to hear from us within a fortnight. Please note that, whilst the Trust is grateful for the support of volunteers, due to the nature of the structure of the Trust’s activities, it is not always possible for everyone interested in volunteering with us to be given duties immediately. If we have nothing suitable when we receive your form, we will keep your details on our database and contact you should something suitable become available.

Sustainability volunteering opportunities

Schumacher College — During courses, the College requires volunteers to assist in the kitchen, supervising work groups, setting up before sessions and clearing away after them, and other duties as arise during the course. Important: all volunteers are expected to stay on site for the duration of the course, and must have attended a course at the College previously in order to be eligible to become a volunteer. Please contact Lisetta Tripoldi for more information.

Woodlands and Conservation — The Trust has initiated a programme to establish a conservation volunteer group, providing opportunities to be involved in conservation work on the Dartington Hall Estate whatever your experience. Volunteer days will run weekly, offering a range of activities from practical tasks to monitoring of species, all of which will assist the Trust’s woodlands and conservation programme. For more information contact Will Wallis

Arts volunteering opportunities

The delivery of our programme of films, events and festivals is only made possible by the generosity and dedication of our volunteers. The categories of volunteering currently available within the Arts are as follows:

Volunteer Stewarding – general information for all categories
Our stewards are the first point of contact for the audience and their principle focus is to maximise their enjoyment of the event and to be vigilant with regard to their welfare and safety. It is also important that people considering this role have good interpersonal skills, as the ability to engage warmly and helpfully with audience members is key.

Volunteers for every category of steward will be required to attend an initial interview and/or induction session where they will be given information on health and safety procedures and the role of a steward.

Volunteer Stewards for the year round programme of films and events Stewards for the year round Arts programme must be available to volunteer on a regular basis and be willing to steward for a broad cross section of films and events. Volunteers in this role will also sometimes be called on at short notice to fill spaces when there are insufficient stewards. The stewarding rota is operated completely on a choice basis, and to allow us to continue to do this all our volunteers must be willing to step in from time to time and steward for films and events they have not initially chosen.

The main duties of the year round film and events steward are to take tickets on the door, give out information/programmes, help with seating and then sit near the exits and fire exits during the event. Stewards assist the audience when entering and leaving the building and support the Front of House Manager in the successful running of a film or event. In an emergency stewards will be required to assist with the evacuation of the building. Stewards are required to arrive 45 minutes before a film or event and one hour before an event in the Great Hall. (Arrival times may vary for some events).

Volunteers for Dartington International Summer School
the Summer School runs for five weeks during July and August and every year it seeks residential and non-resident volunteers to assist with such duties as stewarding and set up for performances.

Summer School Non-resident Volunteer Stewards – Non resident volunteers commit to stewarding for a complete week of Summer School (10 concerts in all) and may attend any of the concerts they are not stewarding and any of the courses during their week, subject to availability.

Summer School Resident Volunteers – The following list of three volunteer roles are administered directly by the Summer School – please click here to find out more and to apply for residential volunteering for the Summer School

• House Parents
• Stewards
• Trogs

Festival Volunteer Stewarding

We need large numbers of volunteers to support the delivery of our festival programme who perform various roles including: venue and outdoor stewarding, welcoming and information giving, ticket/wristband exchange, car parking, litter picking, artist liaison and festival office runners. In exchange for a 4-5 hour shift volunteers gain free access to the complete festival.

Tagore Festival Next Event: 2013
We will again be celebrating Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophies and relevance to the current day in 2013, with a programme of speakers, music, poetry, dance and theatre. Click here for information about volunteering for the Tagore Festival.

Home Festival Friday 22 – Saturday 23 June 2012
Home is a two-day festival focusing on acoustic music, voices and song from around the world. A celebration and exploration of different cultures and languages at a time when we’re losing global cultural biological and linguistic diversity, Home features unplugged sets from a wide range of outstanding international artists. Click here for information about volunteering for the Home Festival.

Interrogate! Festival Friday 12 – Sunday 14 October 2012
Dartington hosted the UK’s first Social Justice Festival this year with the topic of ‘Income Inequality’. The festival featured live performance, debate, comedy, music, art and workshops and we are already working on next year’s festival.

If you are interested in volunteering (except for Summer School residential roles – where you can click on the link for contact details above) please contact Sarah Lawrence, Volunteer Coordinator for The Arts at Dartington on Tel: 01803 847082 or e-mail sarah.lawrence@dartington.org. Please also let us know if you have a specific skill you would like to offer as a volunteer.

Volunteer for High Cross House

• Inspire our visitors
• Tell the story of the house
• Support workshops
• And much more

Join the volunteer team at High Cross House, now open to the public in cooperation with the National Trust, and embark on an exciting journey at this community led art centre in the heart of Dartington. If you are interested and would like to find out more about volunteering for the National Trust and the benefits please contact Caroline Kendall, Community Engagement Officer on 01803 840298 / mob: 07500550178 /email: caroline.kendall@nationaltrust.org.uk

Gardens volunteering opportunities

Dartington Hall Gardens — There is currently no regular, organised programme for volunteers within the gardens, but the Trust does hold events during the year at which the assistance of volunteers is usually required.

Community

Whether or not you find a suitable volunteering opportunity available you can also assist Dartington by coming to our community events, participating in our debates and conversations and contributing to our plans and activities. If you would like to find out more click here to visit the community page. Thank you!