We hope everyone has been keeping safe and well and enjoying the sight of the snowy landscape, if not necessarily the temperature!
In this update we wanted to focus on the positive role that the Museum is still playing in the community despite our closure to visitors.
The Vaccination Centre
The Vaccination Centre continues to run successfully; approximately 1,000 per day, seven days a week, are receiving their vaccination at the Museum and contributing to the total of more than 12.6m people who have received their first dose of the vaccine so far in the UK.
The Vaccination Centre also continues to make positive headlines too; BBC Midlands Today presenter Nick Owen received his vaccination at BCLM last week. You can see the report below:
Community Engagement
The Community Engagement team have taken some of their programme online to ensure that the Museum can still connect with audiences during lockdown. A new monthly series of ‘Access Heritage’ films will launch from Thursday 11 February as an alternative to on-site specialist tours for visually impaired and deaf visitors. The films are designed to be accessible and can be enjoyed by all audiences. Visit BCLM’s YouTube channel from 11 February to see the first set of films. This month’s content is themed around Valentine’s Day and features some surprising objects from the Museum’s collection.
Work with community partners such as our Access Panel also continues, including the ‘Me, Myself and I’ group which supports carers and their family members living with dementia.
Once a month the Community Engagement team participate in the talking therapies sessions offered by ‘Me, Myself and I’ where a Historic Character will make phone calls and sing songs and share traditional Black Country stories to a range of vulnerable older people who are lonely and isolated. Through this work the Museum continues to reach out and make a difference to so many local people’s lives. Thank you to all colleagues who are providing their time and support to this vital initiative.
Connecting through Virtual Coffee & Catch Ups
Within our own Museum community, the People & Culture team piloted virtual coffee and catch up sessions last week (w/c 1 Feb) which proved a real success both in terms of participation and feedback. We’re offering more of these sessions over the coming weeks as a way of helping colleagues to connect with each other and share their experiences. You can find more details here. If you have any feedback, or would like to suggest a theme/share helpful advice at one of these future sessions, please do get in touch via [email protected].
As ever, we’d also be delighted to hear how our colleagues are passing the time; any tips and stories would be very welcome. Please do send your experiences to [email protected] and perhaps we can share these with your permission.
We know that colleagues are still connecting with each other, be that through virtual coffee mornings, or through checking-in in other ways. We’d encourage everyone to stay in touch and support each other in whichever way works best for them during this time.
Leave a Reply