Volunteering at Share Bristol
2
The Pitch
Problem statement
Share Bristol has just opened its second Library of Things in Bristol. It is the first location in South Bristol, which provides local volunteers with a place to borrow, rather than buy, the things they need to live their lives, such as tools for DIY and kit for parties or adventures. It addresses problems including the cost of living crisis (saving people money), mitigates our impact on the environment (reducing waste and reusing items), and brings together members of the local community to support each other (through volunteering). Setting up a new library requires a lot of new volunteers, donations of Things to lend out, and people and resources to fix and maintain these Things.
Solution
The goal is to recruit members of the community to join Share Bristol as volunteers, and to train them up to be Librarians or Thing Technicians. Funding will be spent on advertising for volunteers and running a session to train volunteers in the new Library on how to run our lending sessions and maintain and fix our donated Things.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
Share Bristol is the only Library of Things in Bristol. We set up our first Library in Kingswood in May 2021 and now have nearly 300 households that are active members, as well as dozens of volunteers. We have over 1100 items in regular use that have been donated, saved from landfill, serviced and maintained by our volunteer Thing Technicians. Thanks to a successful Crowdfunder which showed the support of the local community in Bedminster, we were able to secure a location in BS3 and have spent hundreds of hours preparing for the opening of the new Library. We have skilled and experienced volunteers who have been supporting our Kingswood location ready to train BS3 volunteers in June.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Staff costs (Library Manager) to plan volunteer event and coordinate community participation | £200 |
| Marketing (leaflets/social media adverts to advertise volunteering opportunities) | £75 |
| Refreshments (tea/coffee/biscuits for volunteers) | £25 |
Beneficiaries
15 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
We expect to recruit and train 15 volunteers for the new Library, and expect to source donations of 100+ items to add to our Library of Things. We are aiming to attract at least as many members of the Bedminster Library of Things as we already have in Kingswood (nearly 400), keeping hundreds of items out of landfill and in regular circulation through the efforts of our members and volunteers.