New photography exhibition set to celebrate Eastwood’s volunteer superstars

New photography exhibition set to celebrate Eastwood's volunteer superstars

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Volunteers Diane Rowley (left) and Ellie Leatherland are featured in the exhibition.

Volunteers Diane Rowley (left) and Ellie Leatherland are featured in the exhibition.

‘Celebrating the Volunteers of Eastwood’ will open in the Gallery Space at the DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum on Victoria Street on July 27.

The exhibition will feature portraits from more than 30 local organisations, which have been taken by Lesley Grand-Scrutton and Anna Glew from The Beauvale Photography Group.

Speaking about the exhibition, they said: “We came up with the idea of creating an exhibition of photography, which acknowledges and celebrates the important work carried out by organisations and their volunteers to improve the lives of the people in our local community.

“Volunteering takes many forms, including management, administration, giving financial and legal advice, offering spiritual guidance, helping people who are suffering from physical and mental health issues, befriending the lonely and isolated, providing transport to doctor and hospital appointments, giving support to ex forces personnel, working with children and young adults, helping those who are homeless, helping people who are subjected to domestic abuse, working in charity shops, gardening and picking up litter, working in a food bank and serving meals, providing warm spaces. The list goes on.

“The common denominator, in every case, is that so many people are willing to use their skills and experience and give up their precious time to help others in order to make a difference within society.”

Among those featured in the exhibition include Diane Rowley, who set up Eastwood Memory Cafe in 2017 to provide a welcoming and judgement-free space for people with dementia and their carers.

Six years on, Eastwood Memory Cafe is now a registered charity with 22 team members, all continuing to work in a totally voluntary capacity.
Meanwhile Ellie Leatherland, who has been involved in community work since the early 1980s, is also featured.

Ellie is the former co-ordinator of the Eastwood People’s Initiative and has worked tirelessly to help less fortunate members of the local community over the past four decades.

The ‘Celebrating the Volunteers of Eastwood’ exhibition will run at the museum until September 30.

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