>Yes, indeed! Volunteers consume time - in induction, training and in
>supervision. And all too often they leave very soon, either because they
>find that museum work is not as "interesting" as they had thought, or
>because they find paid employment. In the latter case I'm always happy for
>them, but in either case it means that the investment of time is almost
>wasted. Time is something museum staff are chronically short of (pardon the
>pun).

I agree totally. I am the President and volunteer office manager of a
heritage preservation society with a small archives and display area. The
volunteers we want are self-starters - those we can tell how to do it and
they will get on with it. I also appreciate anyone who can see a job that
needs to be done, will seek a little imput and then just do it. For some
time, I have been searching for someone who could share the load of office
manager (I have been doing it for 8 years and could use a change - not to
mention a paying job). Three volunteers have come forward and I have tried
to train them (which takes considerable time) then they have all gone on to
paying positions. There also seems to be a lack of commitment to the
organization and regular attendance is lacking.

Lest I sound negative, I really enjoy working with fellow volunteers on
short term projects. After all, I am myself a volunteer.

Helen


Helen Edwards
Hallmark Society President
Minority Shareholder, Northwest Sports (Vancouver Canucks Hockey Club)
e-mail addresses: [log in to unmask],bc.ca
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WWW Home Page: http://islandnet.com/~helen