One great
thing about volunteering at the Heritage Motor Centre (HMC) is that there
always seems to be new opportunities to get involved in. This blog briefly
outlines two recent invitations to support the work of the museum, both of
which have had plenty of willing takers.
The first
involves spreading the word to local communities and organisations about the
new Museum Collections Centre, as well as giving them a brief history of the
Heritage Motor Centre and what it has to offer. The volunteers will be very
much part of this outreach programme, which is being led by Adela Thomas, the
HMC's community engagement officer.
The project
kicked off in early November with a Community Open Day, when some local groups
were invited to the HMC for a presentation and tour of the museum. These
included a Scout group, youth centre, WI and Probus groups and staff from a
local school. The volunteers' main role will now be to go out into the community
and give presentations to any club or organisation who would like a better
understanding as to what the HMC and the new Collections Centre are all about
as well as details of their exciting plans for the future.
So, if
you're within about 15 miles of Gaydon and would like a talk, then do please
give Adela a call on her work mobile number, 07857 349904. We'll come armed
with an interesting Power Point presentation, which also covers the history of
the Gaydon site and a few unusual motoring related artefacts from the museum's
collection.
The second
opportunity we've been presented with involves helping with the running of an
HMC initiative known as the, "Classic Virgins Experience Day". The
first one took place in September 2013, followed by a further two in 2014. This
year two more are planned in April and September and due to their success more
help from the volunteers has been requested.
Volunteers help out with instruction in the workshop section of the
day
Run by course
director, Bob Wilkinson, the Classic Virgins Experience Day is a hands-on,
informative event aimed at those considering buying and owning a classic car.
The day also gives participants a chance to ride in a range of classic vehicles
along country roads. To quote one participant from the last course "I
always wanted one but never had the courage to take the next step ... after
today I will be doing that. I now realise how clubs offer support to owners
too, which is a great help"
Bob recently briefed all the volunteers who
put their names forward. Given that all of them own one or more classic cars
which they've restored, he clearly has some able and experienced helpers.
For more
information, enrolment details and the 2015 dates look here
