Dear Robert, My suggestion is to "think out of the box" and start from the premise that for almost any skill you need "in house" you will find those who are retired or "between jobs" who can help you from home e.g. Administrators, marketers, Accountants, computer specialists, you name it.. Personally, I wouldn't start with ideas like data entry as that may require remote access to your systems (all kinds of security and software/hardware issues). Or if you are prepared to allow volunteers to download files from your systems to work on at home, how confident are you on end use control? This is not as bleak as it sounds! Those at home can still help with systems design, checking input, and all kinds of quality control. The other aspect of all this is what does your HR department feel about homeworking - for staff? If they are supportive of staff working at home, then they may help you out with migrating these ideas across to volunteers. If, however, they are not sympathetic, then sharing their reasons why may help you avoid some pitfalls.. Hope that's helpful. Best Wishes, Jerry Symonds - Snr. Internal Auditor Historic Royal Palaces Surrey England -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anne M. Nagrant Sent: 22 February 2011 22:15 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] At home volunteering We've had volunteers -washing and ironing soiled tablecloths that were used during programs -making the schedule for front-desk volunteers -repairing repro clothing worn by staff -repairing wooden toys that were broken by enthusiastic young visitors -producing flyers and program postcards from home -research at off-site libraries for specific museum needs Good luck! Anne Nagrant, Museum Staff Troy Museum & Historic Village (Michigan) From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Patrick Connolly (rcnnolly) Sent: Monday, February 21, 2011 9:51 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] At home volunteering We are a small prehistoric Native American focused Museum. I will appreciate any suggestions on the subject of "at home" volunteering. We recently surveyed our visitors and found that 42% would like to have "at home" volunteer opportunities. Right off the top, except for those with specialized skills like graphic design or language translation, our ideas are limited to data entry and scanning documents. Does anyone have experience or insights with this type volunteer opportunity. Thanks, Robert Connolly Robert P. Connolly, PhD Director, C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa 1987 Indian Village Drive, Memphis, Tennessee 38109 901-785-3160, ext. 15 Associate Professor, Anthropology The University of Memphis 38152 901-678-3331 http://www.memphis.edu/chucalissa/ http://rcnnolly.wordpress.com/ The mission of the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa, a division of the University of Memphis, is to protect and interpret the Chucalissa archaeological site's cultural and natural environments, and to provide the University Community and the public with exceptional educational, participatory, and research opportunities on the landscape's past and present Native American and traditional cultures. _____ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L <http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1> &A=1 _____ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L <http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1> &A=1 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).