Volunteers Make Our World Go ‘Round

April 24th, 2020 |

There are many ways to give back to your community. Some people coach youth sports. Others bring meals, supplies, and companionship to the homebound. Still others provide support to patients. Our volunteers at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites help keep our community history alive. This Volunteer Appreciation Week, we want to recognize our dedicated volunteers for all they do.

Sharing History

The volunteers that you may be most familiar with are our site volunteers. This dedicated group of people give tours of the museums, help run the Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe, and keep our programs on track. While many volunteer only at one site, some dedicate their time to multiple aspects of our mission. Without them we could not run the museums, Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe, or programs the way we do.

Growing Gardens

Our gardens would not look nearly as lovely without the tender care of our gardener volunteers. The Bethlehem Garden Club, who also painstakingly decorate the annual Trees of Historic Bethlehem, are careful stewards of the Miller’s Garden in the Colonial Industrial Quarter. Penn State Extension Master Gardeners help keep the pollinator garden at Burnside Plantation thriving and welcoming to all varieties of pollinators. And our Burnside Gardeners, the only group still out and about while social distancing, till the colonial kitchen garden and supply produce for themselves and the Hotel Bethlehem kitchens.

Making Memories

Remember your first time at Blueberry Festival? The sweet taste of blueberry ice cream, the tours of the house and garden, the mouthwatering pie you brought home? Our special events would not be possible without the pie cutters, the admissions takers, or the race timers. Some folks try it out once; others return year after year to help make our biggest fundraisers a success.

Behind the Curtain

Working “behind the scenes,” our committee members and administrative volunteers keep everything on track. From filing, to data entry, to copy editing, to event planning, these volunteers work alongside HBMS staff in our administrative offices to get the job done. Our fantastic interns also help to keep things running smoothly, from event support to program development to design work. At the museums, too, our collections and exhibitions volunteers work hard to research and catalogue our collections and hang exhibits.

Where would we be without our volunteers? Certainly not poised to become a World Heritage Site. So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of our volunteers. We can’t wait to see you again in person soon.

Ready to join the ranks of HBMS volunteers? We have multiple remote opportunities available, including video editing, marketing design, and website review. When the sites are open, we are always looking for museum hosts, tour guides, and special event volunteers.

College students, we are still looking to fill some summer internships! Get administrative, database management, or event coordination experience while supporting our almost 300-year history.

Alecia Caballero is the programming & event venues coordinator at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites. She started as a 15-year-old volunteer with HBMS, first as a host and then as a docent at the Moravian Museum. You can contact her at acaballero@historicbethlehem.org to apply for an internship with Historic Bethlehem.

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