Volunteers
Volunteers have always been at the heart of FoDA. Countless hours of time given by the community helped make the case for saving Delapre Abbey. The renovations of the greenhouses, showing how beautiful the gardens can be, proving the love and interest of people from Northampton and a long way beyond through guiding tours, running events and a tea room helped us get to where we are today - with the Abbey now being restored and a visitor offer being developed thanks to £millions of Heritage Lottery Funding and public donations.
Our role is changing. The Abbey is saved but still needs a lot more funding to achieve its potential for the community. The Delapre Abbey Preservation Trust now manages volunteers and FoDA is now entirely run by volunteers. There are many potential opportunities to volunteer with FoDA, at Delapre Abbey and in the wider community. We can help you to get involved in volunteering with the Delapre Abbey Preservation Trust.
If you would like to join our volunteer team please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
Events
There are lots of ways to help at events - such as help setting up stands and gazebos, meeting the public, supervising activities, taking photographs...
Its great fun helping at events... a chance to meet loads of people and get stuck in!
Office Skills
There are opportunities to share and develop your office and administrative skills, including help with administration at meetings, with memberships and all kinds of practical aspects of managing the charity.
Guides, Speakers and Interviewers
Volunteers provide guided tours of the Abbey and gardens and go out to different places and groups to give illustrated talks on the history of the Abbey and the work of FoDA. We are also starting to develop a community archive, gathering together information and stories about the history of the Abbey and need people to be oral history interviewers or to undertake historical research.
Its great to be able to share the story of Delapre ... and I get the chance to learn more about local history too!
Other
FoDA also support volunteering with Delapre Abbey Preservation Trust and Delapre Park. Volunteers have undertaken a range of conservation tasks such as hedge-laying, woodland maintenance and of course the all important litter removal!
I had an idea for an activity - FoDA supported me to develop it - everyone is a winner!
There are many different ways people can volunteer, offering your time and individual talents - this may be on a regular occurance or on a one-off or more adhoc basis such as building us a model of the Abbey or telling stories at a summer children's event.