Warwickshire News Mine

This national award highlights volunteering opportunities, the important role volunteers play in their local community and the way archives work with volunteers.

Outside the Box, letter transcription project, focused on the Waller family archive, a volunteer based transcription activity which ran for 14 months. In addition, the project enabled volunteers to support community engagement and educational activities such as heritage walks, a large public festival, children’s university sessions and a number of archive focused workshops. 

Chair of the Judging panel, Geoff Pick commented: “A strong volunteering strand of a wider externally funded project.  Judges were particularly impressed by the aspiration to encourage volunteers from non-traditional audiences in disadvantaged communities and amongst house-bound individuals.  The project demonstrates how volunteering projects can have a significant impact on the community at large, for example with the setting up of a new local history group”.

Alaina MacGregor, Project Manager said: “I couldn’t have asked for a more committed and enthusiastic group of people to work with.  Throughout the project, our volunteers were very much members of the team.  Their positive and ‘can do’ attitude towards ‘all things Waller’ was infectious”.

Caroline Sampson, Heritage and Cultural Services Manager said: “I couldn’t be more pleased that Outside the Box has been recognised through this prestigious award. We really wanted to find a way for those who find it hard to volunteer in traditional ways to get involved in the work taking place on the Waller collection, but nothing could have prepared us for their enthusiasm, expertise and their capacity for hard work!  We hope that this will become a springboard to develop more opportunities for volunteers in the future".

Warwickshire County Councillor Colin Hayfield, portfolio holder for customers, workforce and partnerships added: "It’s pleasing to see this project get this well deserved national recognition which puts the spotlight on some good practice in Warwickshire. My congratulations go to the team.”

Outside the Box, one of three projects to receive a Highly Commended Award was selected from applications from across the UK, by a panel of judges that included National Council on Archives (NCA), CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales (a division of the Welsh Assembly Government), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the Scottish Council on Archives, the Society of Archivists and The National Archives.

The winners will receive their award at a Parliamentary reception at the House of Lords on the 14 July.

Link to WCC