Inkwell/Arts and Minds

This afternoon I arranged to meet with Tom Bailey, who was one of the organisers at the Lovearts festival that I attended a few weeks ago to talk about some voluntary work opportunities.

Inkwell Arts is a creative space for positive mental health that is funded by the charity, Mind, and is based in Chapel Allerton, just outside of Leeds city centre. The space is an old converted pub, which runs so many different arts activities with the aim of providing a safe space and support for the community. In the office above is the Arts and Minds office, which is run by the Leeds and York NHS Partnership. They focus on running activities on a wider scale, for example they organised the Lovearts festival in the city centre last month and also run creative afternoon sessions every month.

My Responsibilities 

• Myself and another volunteer (Katie) are in charge of organising materials required for each session
• Keeping the money safe and organised 
• Collecting any donations
• Taking minutes at meetings,and suggesting new ideas

Why am I doing this?

I haven't had a voluntary position of work before, and I feel like it would really benefit my communication and organisational skills for a good cause. I think it is important to give back to the community, especially in areas that have helped you before to give back, show appreciation and help others in similar situations. 

I'm also really keen about becoming more involved with community arts, especially with my interest in potentially teaching workshops when I graduate, and this would be a really great experience.