Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service (CIMS) has secured £75,000 from the Museums Association’s new Health and Wellbeing in Museums Fund. This is the first ever round of grants from the fund, a programme of grant-making, networking and learning dissemination for health and wellbeing programmes in museums, funded by the Julia Rausing Trust.
The funding will help CIMS to grow the award-winning ‘Joy at the Jobcentre’ programme over the next two years. This initiative, co-designed and delivered by CIMS, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus, brings cultural and heritage events into Jobcentres across Suffolk – and now into Colchester.
‘Joy at the Jobcentre’ takes museum-led activities directly into Jobcentre environments. It includes creative workshops, heritage events and cultural experiences designed to support families facing social justice challenges. The programme also offers free vouchers to help families access local museums and cultural spaces on their own terms. Alongside the cultural offer, events include practical support from partners offering advice on issues such as substance abuse, domestic violence, money management and debt.
The grant will support the evolution of ‘Joy at the Jobcentre’ into a more structured programme, with a focus on building skills, confidence and wellbeing in young people, those at risk of rural isolation, and audiences with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The programme has already made a big impact. Over the last year alone, more than 700 families in social justice crisis were reached across Suffolk’s twelve Jobcentres. The approach has led to real, measurable outcomes, including hundreds of volunteering sign-ups, employment opportunities, training placements and apprenticeships. It’s also shown exceptional value, with every pound spent generating an average of £250 in-kind support through services, venues, skills and resources.
Cllr Lee Scordis, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Environment at Colchester City Council, said: “This funding is a testament to the power of culture to transform lives. By working with the Jobcentre and other partners, we’re helping residents access culture in ways that are meaningful and useful to them. I’m really pleased to see Colchester included in this next phase of the programme.”
Philip Carter-Goodyear, Families, Communities and Social Justice Leader for DWP Suffolk, said: "Working with the museum provides us opportunity, as a jobcentre, to connect with some of the most vulnerable, complex and economically disadvantaged communities living in Suffolk in an innovative, creative in useful way. We are very happy to be included as partners on this project, looking at how we can lessen the impact of social justice inequalities and build aspirational and resilient communities for the future."
Georgina Young, MA Board Member and Chair of Health and Wellbeing in Museums Fund Panel said: “The successful projects are full of social purpose and rich with strong partnerships. Every grantee showed impact and commitment in their work to date and ambition and clarity in their plans going forwards. The quality of applications was extremely high, testament to the breadth and quality of health and wellbeing work being undertaken across the sector.”
Page last reviewed: 3 October 2025