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Five Bugbears You Can Banish By Volunteering At COCA – by Lucy Elmes, CoCA Volunteer

Lucy Elmes is currently a volunteer in The Anthony Shaw Space at CoCA (the Centre of Ceramic Art, York Art Gallery), and will shortly be assisting the team as their Volunteer Website Editor. Here Lucy shares some of the highlights of her volunteering experience so far…

Five Bugbears You Can Banish By Volunteering At COCA

Score each one with a ‘phew’ factor of 1 to 5 (with 5 = ‘feeling chuffed!’)

1. Boredom. Bored of the same old, same old? Well by volunteering with CoCA you’ll be part of an amazing team working in a beautiful space. You’ll also get FREE entry into any of York Museums Trust’s collections and exhibitions: including York Art Gallery’s Flesh, York Castle Museum’s Shaping the Body, Yorkshire Museum’s Capital of the North and York St. Mary’s Jorvik: Home and Abroad. That’s boredom zapped!

2. Creative block. Volunteering in the peaceful and contemplative surrounds of a gallery, you’ll get up close and personal with intriguing and inspiring pieces. You’ll discover something new every time as the ceramics collection continues to reveal itself to you. If that doesn’t help spark the imagination I’m not sure what will!

3. In need of an icebreaker. When meeting new people through work or play, you’ll never be short of anecdotes from your time spent volunteering. Whether it’s tales about featured artists’ lives or conversations with visitors from across the globe. You’d be surprised who pops up at the Centre of Ceramic Art!

4. Friendship circle shrinking. Volunteering helps you make new friends with similar interests, so you can share your knowledge and passion for ceramics. You’ll meet volunteers from across York Museums Trust sites at volunteer events, so you never know what you’ll get interested in next. CoCA also invites its volunteers to its exhibition openings, a chance to meet more fantastic people.

5. Dreaded festive shopping trawl. As if the incentives above weren’t enough, as a CoCA volunteer you’ll benefit from discounts across all York Museums Trust shops and cafes, so you can spend more time feeling festive at York Castle Museum’s Victorian Christmas.

Interested in joining our volunteer team? Click here to find out more.