Get involved
BASH TRUST is too small to run a volunteer programme of its own. The hands-on work happens at the Catherine Street synagogue. There are usually four or five open roles in any given year, and they are filled, on the whole, by people who become quietly part of the building's long life.
Before you scroll on, a word. The roles below are the openings we currently have. They are real, and they are small, and they are usually filled by word of mouth. We do not have the office capacity to interview large numbers of applicants. If you write to us, we will reply. If the timing is wrong, we will say so. None of this is meant unkindly.
Open roles
Archive · Plymouth
Commitment: Tuesday evenings · 18.00–20.00 · two hours a fortnight
Work alongside Eli Mendelson, our archive lead, sorting and re-housing the synagogue's paper records. You will handle minute books from the 19th century, school exercise books from the 1930s, marriage registers, and the wardens' correspondence. Training is brief and the work is quiet.
Team lead · Eli Mendelson
Heritage · Plymouth
Commitment: Saturday · 09.00–17.00 · twice a year
Welcome visitors at the September Heritage Open Days and the spring open weekend. Two days a year, with a briefing the Friday before. You don't need a deep knowledge of the building — the building does most of the speaking.
Team lead · Naomi Levy
Education · Plymouth
Commitment: Occasional weekdays · 10.00–12.30
Accompany small classes of Year Five children from Plymouth primary schools on their visits to the synagogue. You'll help with seating, handouts, and the tea afterwards. We run roughly 14 visits a year between October and June.
Team lead · Helena Solomon
Fabric · Plymouth
Commitment: One Saturday morning · 10.00–12.00 · four times a year
Walk round the exterior of the building four times a year with the warden, noting any new damp marks, slipped slates, or graffiti to the railings. The notes feed into the architect's quinquennial. No technical knowledge needed.
Team lead · Daniel Hart
Trustee support · London
Commitment: Two mornings a quarter · 09.30–12.30 · Gray's Inn
Help us keep the trustees' paper correspondence in good order at the registered office in central London. Filing, scanning, light typing. Comfortable typing and discretion required.
Team lead · David Goldberg
Occasional · Plymouth
Commitment: High Holy Days & Pesach · varying hours
Help with the practical arrangements around the High Holy Days and Pesach — seating, kiddush refreshments, the building's modest car-parking arrangements. Two short shifts a year.
Team lead · Naomi Levy
Enquiry form
A short note is enough. A trustee or one of the team leads will read it and write back within five working days.
The Trust's small reserves do the same work whether you give an hour or a pound.
Make a gift instead