It’s often mentioned that this giant, all-powerful, professional looking organisation that we call British Naturism is actually run by only 17 volunteers, aided by a few paid employees and consultants. There are lots of other people assisting with regional work or ad-hoc projects and they get more from their membership – and enjoy it – by doing so. With the huge amount of work we have to do; administrative – to ensure a viable and smooth-running organisation; campaigning – promoting naturism and fighting for wider acceptance; and services – putting on events, providing information and other benefits to members and the outside world, we need as many people as possible to lend a hand. You don’t have to sign up to a big commitment, or be drowned in officialdom or paperwork, but if you have a few hours to spare we’d love to hear from you. We have plenty of “jobs” available for volunteers and you’ll be given all the help you need to make a success of it. Please come forward by sending an email to, or calling, Head Office.
Some of the more specific needs on our list at present are:
Minutes Secretary – our thanks go to Toby, who has been taking the minutes of some meetings, including the AGM. Unfortunately his work does not allow him to attend every meeting, and a reserve minutes secretary to step into the breach when Toby cannot do it would be most welcome. Offers should be sent to Tracey Major, General Secretary.
Beach Users – the beaches pages on our website could do with a big makeover. We need two things here – beach users to feed back information on beaches and fill in any gaps, plus people to offer to do the updating and keep it current. There is a plan to entirely redesign the pages.
The Financial Advisory Group – anyone with accountancy or financial experience or expertise is invited to assist the Treasurer. The idea is to create a group who could assist both with ideas and with the nitty-gritty of the figures. It is envisaged that contact would be by e-mail, rather than regular face to face meetings.
Designers – more and more we are using publicity to promote ourselves outside of the naturist world and whilst we have no problem currently with writing copy or typesetting, the design of logos and other devices is something we need expert help with. In 2010 it is also intended to revamp many of the BN branded promotional goods, and our website needs to be looked at for the overall image it presents.
Regions – communication between people living at a distance from each other is simple these days, but that doesn’t stop local activity being of prime importance to us. Some of our regions are well supported by people in the area, but others suffer from a lack of pairs of hands. Having active Regions, integrating properly and meaningfully with BN at the national level is essential, and leads to benefits for us all.
In addition, aside from actual tasks, the more of us talking about the wonders of naturism, educating friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues or getting them to try it, the better. There’s nothing wrong with naturism – in fact, there’s everything right! – but we need to spread the word to get more people to understand. To help you, we’ve produced a leaflet called “What is Naturism?” which the office will be pleased to send you bundles of for distribution. We always have plenty of them for you to take away from our events too.
