Hi,

We are getting increasing demand from (usually our corporate partners) who want to do group volunteering (usually 3-4 hours) with us.  We have a few opportunities they help with- our Museum store, price tagging and outside doing gardening tasks.  I'm curious to know if anyone uses group volunteers in their Museum and what they do?  We're running out of tasks for them so I'm brainstorming ideas but it's always good to hear what's happening already.  We want them to be doing helpful tasks, but it can be a struggle to think of things for such a short period of time.

I'd really appreciate any information!  Thanks so much.

Lindsay Watts, 9/11 Memorial & Museum

LWatts@911memorial.org

We have only used group volunteers on occasion. We don't have any outdoor needs and really cannot use volunteers for major indoor tasks like painting or cleaning. We tried engaging college fraternity/sorority service groups to help out on weekends when we had special events and big attendance. The idea was that they would help people find their way to various activities. But without the possibility to do training in advance they were not good at way-finding and tended to hang out together.  The problem was our inability to give them the training needed. This is also an issue in engaging corporate volunteers since having them come in advance for training is a challenge.

For many groups, they have a specific date in mind when they want to volunteer, and that usually doesn't match needs.

I have been turning down group requests but save the contact information just in case staff come up with something.  Every now and then I will send out an all-staff e-mail to see if anyone has a project, but staff understand that they would need to invest a good amount of time in training (even for the simplest tasks) and for supervision.

Stretched as all of us are for time, engaging a group just doesn't help - even if the potential for later corporate funding support is there.

Lois Kuter

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

Hi there, 

Late to the game, but here at the Smithsonian our corporate partners rarely formally volunteer with us in short term opportunities, mostly for the reasons listed by others. However, we have been able to engage some in outdoor activities (the National Zoo) and in special events for greeting and way finding. Opportunities that require little training are key.

In a former role, we worked with corporate partners on more skill-based projects; essentially pro bono work within the organization. We received help from database development to leadership workshops. 

Hope this helps!

Abbey Earich

EarichA@si.edu