Dream job

My dream job continues to live up to its promise, not least because I get to see the huge range of projects that make a difference to people’s lives. This includes the completely refurbished community museum at Saddleworth; to capturing the struggles of the LGBT community, a terrific project that is training members of the community to be curators culminating in an exhibition in 2017 - to reference two within my first month in the job.

Indeed, just this week, thanks to National Lottery players, I was lucky enough to witness the excitement first hand of a community finding out their application for a £1.8million grant Townscape Heritage grant to revitalise Stockport’s historic high street as a vibrant destination has been successful.

[quote]"I have seen the way National Lottery players money has been used to help people..."[/quote]

I already had a good network of contacts in the North West, some of whom I had seen less of in recent years, so it has been wonderful to re-establish these relationships and make many new ones. Landscapes and parks are where I have most to learn and as a person who enjoys the outdoors (as a runner, hiker and cyclist) I feel privileged to be part of an organisation that sees this heritage as of vital importance. Coming from the Arts Council, I am surprised by how many projects, especially the smaller scale ones, include an arts element to explore heritage – a good thing as this shows the power of the arts in often community-led projects.

A fantastic team

The HLF North West team comprises some of the most dedicated, professional, friendly and committed people I have ever had the joy of working with. Of course I am finding there are challenges, such as some high-risk projects that need a lot of monitoring and support to protect National Lottery players’ investment. However it is these, usually significant capital projects, which are also some of the most exciting.

Making a difference

I have also been humbled by the sheer number of people in communities across the North West who are committed to heritage making a difference for their local residents and visitors – from church communities, to wildlife trusts, to community groups wanting to save a significant building and to provide services to their locality, to a minority community who want to capture and demonstrate the value of their heritage.

There are many people and communities in the North West with high needs – for employment, social and health care for example – and it would be easy to see heritage as unimportant.  But I have seen the way National Lottery players money has been used to help people understand who they are and where they come from, empowering them to define a positive future. In the process so many projects deliver training and skills, contribute to more sustainable ways of living, and provide a greater sense of wellbeing to communities time and time again.

Perhaps the most powerful I have seen so far is a volunteering project in Manchester Museums, thorugh the Inspiring Futures: Volunteering for Wellbeing project,  that supported people with social care needs to volunteer. From taking part, 20% have ended up in employment and their stories bring tears to the eye. To quote one participant: "without this project I would be stuck at home convincing myself I liked black tea."