Without volunteers ‘MTG Hawke’s Bay would be a very different place’

Every year I write about the importance of volunteers to our institution and to the wider community. This year is no exception but there are perhaps broader examples to be given. Cyclone Gabrielle has taught us that, for a reason we consider important enough, most if not all will turn their hand to volunteering.

 The fact that people will give hours and even years of their lives volunteering to support the museum speaks to the important place museums hold in society, and also the value volunteers hold for us. Without volunteers MTG Hawke’s Bay would be a very different place. We would have fewer collection items catalogued and available online, fewer objects appropriately packed, less capacity to respond to requests regarding research or people visiting the collection. We wouldn’t have piano music played live in our galleries, we might be unable to open for special events – such as Matariki or Nuit Blanche. Overall, our museum would all be significantly poorer without our fabulous volunteers.

 Our Trust Board members, who are kaitiaki for the collection on behalf of everyone, generously give of their time and expertise and are also volunteers. Over recent years another category of voluntary giving to the museum has evolved – knowledge holders, kaumatua and members of the Te Matau-a-Māui community who have so generously shared their stories and those of their whānau or communities. These stories, captured on film, can be seen and heard through many of the galleries around the museum.

 There is a broader category of voluntary giving that the museum receives. Most of our collection has developed through donations from the public, directly offering us their family’s heirlooms such as earthquake images, diaries, clothing, artworks and more. Others support us through actively raising funds so that we can add to the collection. For decades this was through the Friends of the Museum committee and members, and in more recent times, through the MTG Foundation. There is a smaller number where I have approached people directly to ask for their property! This is an unusual step and has mostly been in relation to Cyclone Gabrielle.

 There are volunteers everywhere you look in our community; fire fighters, people working in charity shops, at hospice, the Art Deco Trust, collecting for charities and beach clean-ups. I try to imagine the museum without all these incredible examples of generosity and giving and I simply cannot. Volunteers are a critical lifeblood to any museum. They do a huge amount and I, for one, sincerely appreciate you and thank you all. Sunday 16 June 2024 is the start of Volunteer Week, so why not take a moment to appreciate all the volunteers out there and all that they do and give.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 15 June 2024 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

17 June 2024

Back to News