Volunteer Testimonials

“The reward of volunteering in Education is not only what you learn, but looking in a students’ eyes and seeing what they learn and their excitement when they figure it out!”

- Education Department Volunteer

“I did that!”

- Research Intern seeing how their research project played an important role in one of our exhibits.

“The best part of volunteering at Lawnfield is walking and touring through a Presidential home and discussing the history of it and discussing it with people young and old from all over the country and the world!”

- Lawnfield Interpreter Volunteer

Volunteer Testimonials from our Library

WRHS Reference Supervisor Ann Sindelar spent some time speaking with a few of the historical society’s dedicated Library Volunteers who shared their thoughts about volunteering.

“I enjoy working and helping patrons…especially those who have hit a road block. Many researchers are very appreciative of the time and help they receive while visiting the library” On recently helping a patron locate early marriage records on family members….”the researcher was extremely happy and looked forward to sharing them with his 90 year old mother”. He knew his mother would “enjoy reminiscing and telling stories about the people found in those records.”

-Volunteer, Reference Division, WRHS Archives Library

“As a person who loves history there isn’t a better place to volunteer than the Historical Society. I’ve learned so much about Ohio and Cleveland history and the people, institutions in our community. It also gives me pleasure to help preserve the historical records so that others can better understand and appreciate.”

- Volunteer, WRHS Archives Library, Cleveland Jewish Archives, 21 years of service

“I turned over the collection Cleveland Council of Anti-Semitism to the WRHS archives. At the time (WRHS Director of Research) John Grabowski asked if I’d like to help processing. I had never done processing but wanted to give it a try. I found myself being drawn to the process and moreover the importance of the work to preserve the records for future generations. The 21 years that I’ve been involved as a volunteer processor, the breadth of the collections has been amazing. They range from a pre-civil war merchant in South Carolina who married into a Revolutionary war era family, all the way up to a collection from a Rabbi who died two years ago. It also included along the way, collections relating to the Cleveland garment industry and other institutional collections. I think I have learned over the years more by involving myself with this type of activity than any number of university class I have taken over the years. It has been a source of great satisfaction to me.”

- Volunteer, WRHS Archives Library, Cleveland Jewish Archives, 21 years of service

Testimonials from our Hale Farm & Village Internship Program, Summer 2006

My experience in the Hale Farm Internship was both enriching and educational. The lecture portion of the internship incorporated discussion of the important philosophical questions involved in entering the museum field today: what gets saved, where does the money come from, who chooses the content and how much input should the public, trustees and backers have in exhibit creation. The rest of the internship enabled us to work alongside museum staff and experience the day to day operation of Hale Farm and Village interpretation. In our training we were able to learn about interpretation, budgeting and special programming. These experiences have given me a better understanding of the different types of employees a museum needs to function and which of those roles I might like to fill when I'm finished with school.

Ellen Kennedy,

Clemson University , Undergraduate, History & Anthropology

I wanted to say that I am appreciative of the internship opportunity. I believe that I learned a lot about Western Reserve history and the importance of the Hales in that history. I believe that this internship allowed me the opportunity to work in a public history setting while learning about local history.

Dan Griesmer,

University of Akron , PhD Candidate, History

Join our Volunteers and Interns and you too can help us document, preserve, present and interpret the past for generations to come. For more information about how you can help, contact Becky Carlino, bcarlino@wrhs.org or call 216-721-5722 ext. 274 for details