Volunteer’s Week: Meet Jo, our volunteer manager.
Never have we ever met anyone more passionate about volunteers than our volunteer manager, Jo Bryant. So, we thought it would be fitting for Jo to get our Volunteer’s Week celebrations kick-started.
So, hey Jo 👋, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how you got here…
I have to say I never expected to be working somewhere like We The Curious, but 12 years later I am so glad I am. I had no idea what science centres were when I applied for the job, and had stopped studying science at 16, so it has been a fantastic journey for me. It is such a privilege to work with the amazing teams here and of course our inspiring volunteers and local communities. I started volunteering myself when I was 17 and loved it. I then went on to manage young volunteers doing international youth exchanges and then set up a volunteer programme in a small grassroots charity in Cornwall before moving to Bristol and seeing the job at what was at the time At-Bristol science centre.
How is volunteering an integral part of We The Curious? How has it helped us get to where we are?
As with any charity the voluntary Board of Trustees are essential in leading and supporting what we do. The fact that our diverse and vibrant local community support us at the scale they do (150 people supporting us with 4000 hours a year) I am in no doubt has made We The Curious a richer and more relevant resource for Bristol and beyond. Our volunteers over the last 12 years have brought passion, skills and energy and all left a lasting legacy with us. They are important advocates back in their own communities explaining who we are and the movement of curiosity we want to create.
What does it mean to be a volunteer? (In the abstract sense)
This is a great question! Each volunteer is an individual with individual motivations for volunteering but for me it’s people feeling passionately enough about a charity’s cause and wanting to make the world a better place by giving their time and energy to it and of course have a lot of fun along the way.
How does volunteering serve Bristol and our community?
I recently met with other cultural organisations volunteer managers/coordinators and it really hit home the scale of volunteering that takes place just within the cultural sector in Bristol. It is deeply inspiring that so many local people want to make our city a fantastic place to be. We would not be the city we are without the work that volunteers do for local parks, festivals, arts spaces, museums, city farms, wildlife projects and so much more.
What does volunteering mean to you and your life?
I have to say I can not imagine my life without volunteering in it — whether that is working with volunteers or volunteering myself. It really enriches my life in so many ways and it is great to feel part of making a positive difference to the world. I have seen so many fantastic things come out of volunteering both for the charities and for the volunteers themselves whether it is growing in confidence, getting dream jobs, making life long friends, getting to travel the world or falling in love!
Any other bits you want to say? 😊
One of our very long standing volunteers with We The Curious shared this quote with me and I love it, so let me leave you with it:
“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.”
Every day this Volunteer’s Week, We The Curious will be celebrating our brilliant, diverse and vital volunteers!
Keep an eye on our social media channels for some fabulous films and here on our Medium account for 2 more blog installments — all, exploring the tales and voices behind volunteering.
