MK Arts for Health
"The work in the hospital is rewarding as it is easy to see a results from just one afternoon. Volunteering and helping others in the community are some of the most important parts of Scouting.”-Clare Higgins, Milton Keynes Great Ouse Explorer Scouts
Arts for Health grew out of the voluntary Hospital Arts Committee who had the vision to develop an art collection at the hospital when it first opened in 1984. The Collection currently has around 400 artworks and is the largest permanent collection in Milton Keynes.
In the wider community they deliver a series of art workshops for many different groups of people facing health challenges, including people with dementia and young people going through a difficult time.
Their longest running programme is Arts on Prescription, which offers free 12 week art courses for adults with mental and physical health issues. Since the start of the Arts on Prescription programme, over 300 people have participated and evaluation of the programme shows that participants report improvements to their health and wellbeing through taking part.
MK Arts for Health aims to improve the well-being of the service-user by giving them confidence and tranquillity and as a result this will decrease the need for GP surgery appointment and medication. The opportunity to take part in hands-on activities also provides an opportunity to focus on something separate from everyday life and acts as a relaxation activity.
MK Arts for Health was awarded an Opportunities for Volunteering (OFV) grant by Attend in 2008 to help them recruit volunteers. The OFV grant allowed MK Arts to recruit and train volunteers. They have been building close relationships with local schools, colleges and social enterprise as a way to achieve their goal of recruiting younger volunteers. A group of Explorer Scouts have been able to use their volunteering to design and build a Physiotherapy Garden as part of their GCSE project work.
Created July 19, 2012. Updated 2021
MK Arts for Health benefits from Attend membership, which includes comprehensive charity insurance cover. For more information, or to join, please click here.
