Our volunteers are essential to the running of the Abbey. From making sure it is a welcoming, safe place, to ensuring we have refreshments to serve, from helping to preserve the Abbey’s history and heritage, to engaging the local community in everything the Abbey has to offer, there is always something to get involved in.
Whether you have an hour a year, month, week or more to spare, our roles can be flexible to suit your schedule. You will be given all the training required to undertake any of these roles, so no experience is necessary!
Front of House Volunteering
Coffee & Gift Shop Volunteer
Selby Abbey has a Coffee and Gift shop situated in the North Transept of the Church. It is open everyday, ran by a team of volunteers.
Welcomer
Serving as part of the Welcoming team, you will be the first point of contact for anyone visiting the Church.
Concerts and Events Volunteering
Our events programme is an integral part of the work we do at the Abbey, varying from community art installations, fairs and exhibitions, to music performances and concerts.
Our volunteers help us with everything to serving on the bar to taking apart the staging
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, read more below:
Heritage Volunteering
Heritage volunteers will be involved with heritage activities and work with the Community Engagement Co-ordinator to help with data collection for the Heritage Lottery project, as well as working with historic material in the Abbey to develop the Abbey’s current heritage programme.
This will include documenting elements of the Abbey as well as our historical collections, along with researching the heritage and history of the objects, architecture, graves, stained glass and anything else of historical importance. We are hoping to create a database of historical information on the Abbey which we can be used within the Abbey by visitors, as well as researchers and those interested in exploring the Abbey’s heritage.
Tour Guides
Tour Guides deliver tours of the Abbey to pre-booked groups. You will receive all information necessary to deliver a tour as well as training with a current Guide. Tours can be booked by groups on any days of the week, but you will be given notice of the booking in advance to see if you are available. There will also be opportunities to develop on our current tour, supporting the engagement co-ordinator and heritage volunteers in identifying key aspects to include.
Music volunteering
Origin Stories Volunteering
Selby Abbey: The Origin Stories is a £1.4 million National Lottery Heritage Fund project to deliver essential repairs to this Grade I listed building, with a public engagement programme centred around the Abbey’s spectacular St Germain window and a new Monastic Garden.
We will have different volunteering opportunities as a result of this project across the span of the project, so keep an eye out below!
Education Volunteer
Education Volunteer
Education volunteers help at our experience days where local schools visit the Abbey to partake in workshops relating to specific themes, for example Easter and Harvest. It is essential you can communicate effectively and engagingly with Ks1 and Ks2 children. Previous teaching or teaching assistant experience would be advantageous, however full training will be provided. Sessions run on days throughout the academic year and you will be contacted prior to each experience starting to provide your availability for different school visits. There will also be other education opportunities throughout the year which will include both primary, secondary and college students which you can be involved in if you would like.
Ad Hoc Volunteering
Ad hoc volunteering
The aim of this role is to allow volunteers who are unable to dedicate a set number of hours per week or month to still volunteer with us on an ad hoc basis. Whether this be lending support at events, participating in short term heritage projects, research work or anything else that may require additional support, this role allows flexibility to be part of the Abbey team.
If there is something you would like to get involved in that is not listed here, please get in touch with the sign up form below and we’ll see how we can accommodate your interests.
Benefits of Volunteering with Us
Benefits of volunteering with us include:
- Gaining confidence
- Being part of a community
- Meeting new people
- Boosting your CV
- Making a difference
- Social events
- Having fun…plus much, much more!