FOSUMS is a group of volunteers who are ‘Friends’ of Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Monkwearmouth Station Museum and Washington F Pit. We are an enthusiastic group who like to get involved in something that will stretch our minds a bit, meet like-minded people and support a very important, interesting and informative organisation. We get involved in fundraising, of course, but also conservati
on, historic re-enactments and other activities while working with the Museum’s professionals to maintain and expand the amazing collections which chart the history and culture of our City and region. Oh, and did we mention that we also get together socially just for the fun of it and of course to eat, drink and enjoy good company. There are so many benefits to membership! Find a FOSUM and we’ll tell you about it. Fundraising - Fundraising is a fun part of FOSUMS life. We are an active organisation, enthusiastic about supporting our City and our Museums. Funds raised are use for exhibitions, museum refurbishments, learning activities and for acquiring important items for the collections. In order to raise money we organise craft fairs, tea dances and Fun Days for kids during school holidays. Activities include, competitions, tombola, raffles, Guessing Games and Face Painting. The Book of Guardians was set up to raise money for the refurbishment of the Museum in 2001. The Book is ongoing and on permanent display. Events - FOSUMS meet each month and always have an interesting speaker. Speakers are usually from universities or museums and are experts in their field, subjects include Art, Culture, History and Science. As well as monthly meetings we have coach outings, visits to other museums, and a Christmas Party.. We have stands at the Durham County and Sunderland Heritage Fairs. We take part in Heritage Open Days and provide displays at events like the Friendship Festival and the Air Show. Life Long Learning - FOSUMS life is an educational experience as expert speakers share their knowledge at each monthly meeting. We have also taken part in excavations at the Dawson’s Pottery site and helped with Architectural research. FOSUMS support the Museums’ educational role through the work of the Learning and Outreach Teams with funding for their programmes and helping out at their events. Promotion - FOSUMS promote Sunderland Museums by taking part in heritage fairs, bringing in celebrities to give talks, presenting stories to the media and campaigning. A major success was FOSUMS help in campaigning to retain the whole of the former library building for museum use when the library moved out in 1995. The Future - This is sure to be a challenge, particularly regarding funding. If you have a spare million we have a good use for it. We need to expand our membership numbers and are very happy that younger people are gradually replacing the older stalwarts who can no longer manage to attend.
