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So, who are family volunteers? The Family Learning Team here in the museum established the following definition:
“Family volunteers are members of the same family working together on the same volunteer job. They function as a volunteer unit, not separated, but work to complete the assigned volunteer work as one. A family volunteer can be a mom and dad and a child or children, a grandparent and a grandchild, a mom and a child, a dad and a child, an adult sibling and a brother or sister. Families or extended families do not have to necessarily have a blood relationship or live in the same house all of the time. They may have a long term, on-going relationship which qualifies them as “family.”
Please check the Volunteer Opportunities List to find a volunteer job in which your family would be interested.
Please check the Family Volunteers Code of Ethics to determine if your family will be able to meet the museum’s expectations.
We have found the following to be true:
- A family who volunteers together learns from each other while creating an awareness of volunteerism for the general public and consistently embraces a life long museum and community dedication.
- Family volunteers can develop tremendous insight into the organization they are serving and may become catalysts for other Family Learning opportunities while teaching by example.
- Through a family’s commitment to both the organization and its mission, strong life-long ties are created. Family volunteers become stronger members of the organization’s community and continue to embrace volunteerism throughout their lives.
- Family volunteering and volunteering in general can reconnect people to each other, their communities and specifically to the institutions which reflect their common beliefs, goals and mission.
Measurable Outcomes:
- Family volunteering can impart an understanding of Family Learning by creating a sense of community engagement.
Research indicates families are spending less time together, technology is the favored means of communication and our doors and windows are often closed to other members of our communities and neighborhoods. A member family of a museum or organization already believes in its mission and recognizes its relevance for themselves and their community. Volunteering for the museum or organization, either as a family or as an individual, will create opportunities to become better acquainted with the programs, exhibits and galleries. Volunteer Managers and Administrators must make these connections to help their organizations thrive in these difficult economic times.
- Family volunteering can impart an understanding of how to create a generation pipeline of volunteers through Family Learning.
According to the Independent Sector report, “Civic Participation Is a Family Matter,” “among those (adult) individuals who engaged in a volunteer activity with a family member, 72% reported being active in volunteering activities as a child.” A positive volunteer experience as a youth certainly can lead to a better global perspective and understanding of the world, one community at a time. This understanding helps to maintain the spirit of volunteerism into the child’s adulthood. In the January 8, 2004 issue of “The Chronicle of Philanthropy” Jenny Friedman, author of “The Busy Family’s Guide to Volunteering” writes “volunteering as a family can teach children tolerance and start them on a lifetime of charitable giving. She suggests parents should seek their children’s help in selecting which organizations to support.”
- Family volunteering can impart an understanding of how to further utilize a current volunteer base through Family Learning.
Once adult volunteers are given the parameters of understanding Family Learning, they can have a different lens to look through to help facilitate and participate in Family Learning experiences. In some cases, the volunteer may serve as a substitute family member in encounters with the children and families visiting the organization or institution. If volunteers’ work is meaningful and relevant, then they are learning as they work. Volunteer Managers are going to be well served in the future if, through their volunteers’ work and positive training, they can also help the families learn together.
Findings and Conclusions:
- Families who volunteer together help to sustain the missions of the museums or organizations they are serving.
- Family volunteers can learn together while still helping to facilitate the experience for another family.
- Volunteering in a place for which a family cares continues to build the family’s understanding of how to help others and sustain the recognition of each person’s importance in the creation of a peaceful world of interdependence.
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