HEY! Volunteers awarded £200,000 development grant

CELEBRATION: The region’s volunteering programme has been awarded a two-year grant from the Heritage Innovation Fund

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Hull and East Yorkshire’s HEY! Volunteering programme has been awarded a £200,000 grant funding from the Heritage Innovation Fund.

The funding, to be be delivered over a period of two years until 2026, aims to support projects to explore, test and grow new ways of working across the heritage workforce.

It will be used to sustain and grow the volunteer programme in Hull and East Yorkshire across five key programmes of work. These include volunteer recruitment, training and support programmes, increased engagement and communication, as well as new resources and equipment.

Councillor Rob Pritchard, Hull City Council portfolio holder for culture and leisure, said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to the HEY! Volunteers team on this grant.

“The programme continues to prove incredibly popular and as a volunteer myself, I look forward to seeing how it develops and grows with this additional support.”

Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: "HEY! Volunteering is a brilliant initiative, and after the introduction of the HEY! Brid cohort in Bridlington earlier this year we're looking forward to seeing this project grow even further across the region."

Chris Blacksell, chair of Visit Hull and East Yorkshire Advisory Board, said: “The HEY! Volunteering programme provides a warm and unique welcome to Hull and East Yorkshire and I'm delighted that this grant will enable its benefits to be felt even wider across our wonderful region.”