Volunteer

I assisted running the project's stall, helping reach out to those who hadn't come across it before. This included describing what QHS do, such as running a variety of events and volunteering offers too. To encourage people to add to it, we offered for people to share their best Trans Pride memories; it was lovely hearing about so many different stories from so many different people, some memories made on the day and others many years ago. It was incredibly heart-warming to hear so many joyful stories.

I've had a really good time at the one event I volunteered at because it taught me a lot about history within the few hours. It was really interesting to speak to the people who came in and to hear their stories. In terms of the actual volunteering, everything was quite simple and I was put with someone who knew how to do the digitising and archiving. The staff were lovely, I spoke to a few about their degrees and that in itself helped to understand more about the people who work at the archive and the importance it has to the staff. Overall, it felt quite comfortable and I'd love to do another event with the archive.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived, as I hadn't ran a stall before. Truthfully, I was a bit nervous. I felt slightly silly a few moments later, once I realised I had done exactly what I was required to do many, many times before: greeting people, selling items and providing information. I had done this at a charity shop every Sunday for six months. I had also frequently done this working at my university's open days (minus the selling, of course). I took on the role quite easily after I remembered that! I would really recommend this role to anyone looking to volunteer at a queer-based project, as well as at other events Queer South Heritage plan too.