Overview of Volunteerism
1. American tradition (vs. Russia)
2. Role of the museums
- AAM statistics (overheads)
- docents/education volunteers, staff assistance (various duties), trustees
3. Who volunteers?
- "lady bountiful", retired people, teenagers, college students, professionals changing careers, (current trends - project and short-term focus)
4. Others benefits to museum:
- knowledge, time, skill and labor, stakeholders (money, time, and talent - ambassadors)
5. Benefit to volunteers:
- training, sense of belonging and social contacts,("elite group"? - cost?), fulfillment, service, advancement into professional job
6. Challenges to museum:
- turnover, time investment in training, staff-volunteer conflicts (boundary issues), eliminating aid jobs, accountability and evaluation, cost effectiveness (paid docents?), finding quality volunteers
7. Training manuals (see models)
8. Show appreciation (THANK YOU - methods)