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Status
Received: 1 days late
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Income
£16.8K
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Spending
£6.9K
Public benefits
The public benefit which flows from the benefit of the advancement of education is that the museum and it’s collection of artefacts provides a large educational resource comprising items from pre-history through to the twentieth century. Displays, exhibitions, talks, study visits and projects are all facilitated by the organisation. Stakeholders
include local schools, community associations, residents and the general public who visit the museum and experience heritage of the Bann Valley over the centuries through touching relics of the past. Resources within the museum can be utilized by local schools and colleges as they link to subjects across the the curriculum. The public benefit which flows from the acquisition and preservation of artefacts and the environment they come from is to preserve as much of our living history as is practical within the confines of our resources. The museum is an important archive and repository of items many of which have been donated by local families who wish them to be used for the greater benefit of the whole community as part of an archived and contextualized collection. The public benefit that comes from providing access to heritage as a whole is the communal support. Those that identify strongly with a certain heritage are often more likely to help out others in that same community. Heritage is made up of many things large and small. From our townscapes, to our landscapes which our ancestors have shaped . Preserved through books, artifacts, objects, photographs, art, and oral tradition. Heritage is in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the religions we follow, and the skills we learn. Sometimes we can touch and see what makes up a culture; other times it is intangible. The Heritage Cycle helps explain the process of finding and incorporating culture into our lives. It starts with understanding the culture. Only then may we begin to value it. From there, we can learn to care and celebrate our culture. With more enjoyment, we will want to learn and understand more—and so the circle goes. The museum also provides the public benefit of access to leisure and recreation a visitor experience for those local residents and the general public alike who wish to visit our facilities for a few hours and enjoy the collection and spirit of the organisation. Leisure time provides an opportunity to examine personal values, to focus on what is important to you. It gives you the balance you need to deal with your non-leisure activities and can provide relief from stress and boredom. It can help promote not only better emotional health but physical health as well. There is no private benefit to any of the Trustees who manage our organisation. All conflict of interest issues are discussed if they arise at our monthly meetings. The museum is managed and staffed by a team of volunteers who are involved in everything from the day to practicalities of organizing a building open to the general public to sourcing new artefacts or developing new exhibitions. In the summer months we employ two part-time casual staff to help out as our opening hours are longer and there is a great deal of interaction with visitors. Although the two staff get the private benefit of a small salary and they also gain museum and visitor experience this is necessary as we could not deliver our public benefit without this necessary support. Nearly all of our acquisitions are freely donated but occasionally we may need to purchase an item for our collection from a dealer or auction that requires a handling charge or fees. All of these purchases are considered within the context of their importance to the public benefit of adding to the collection or helping to interpret the heritage of the area and decisions are made at our trustee meetings and limits carefully considered and strictly adhered to. (Please contact the Charity Commission in order to view the remainder of this statement).
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
We are a local heritage group who manage one of the largest independent museum collections in Northern Ireland. The museum trustees are responsible for the collection, housing, interpretation and display of historical artifacts for the benefit of local residents, tourists to the area for scholars, community groups and school groups to access. The
museum trustees organise exhibitions and displays on a wide variety of topics and subjects not only within the museum itself but also in other community venues as part of a local community engagement programme. These exhibitions display items of local and regional significance together with accompanying interpretation and are designed to engender an informed appreciation and understanding of history and the shared historical experience of all the communities in the area and affords opportunities for school groups to understand and appreciate local history and its place in historical events at a regional, national and international context. The museum offers opportunities for its members to develop skills and abilities in the heritage sector through developing organisational skills in running the museum, preservation of artefacts, recording and cataloging recent acquisitions or being involved in the organisation of displays and exhibitions. Trustees and friends of the museum also fundraise to purchase items which have a strong local historical focus but have left the district over the years and then turn up in public or private sales. The community archive element of our work give people a strong connection to certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It allows them to identify with others of similar mindsets and backgrounds. Heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group and allows us to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of education
- The advancement of citizenship or community development
- The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
Who the charity helps
- General public
- Volunteers
How the charity works
- Cultural
- Heritage/historical
