Thank you to our volunteers!
Although we recognize the importance of our volunteers every day, April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and a good time for Secretary Bunch to offer his personal thanks to all the volunteers who make our day-to-day operations possible.
Once again, it is time to celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Month, a tremendous opportunity for the Smithsonian community to recognize the volunteers who make the Institution’s work possible. This recognition month is especially gratifying as it provides me the opportunity to praise those whose passion for the Smithsonian and its mission is matched only by their dedication.
Our volunteers are as varied as the work they do. Many are new to the Smithsonian while others have volunteered with us for decades. Many share their time and talents in person while others volunteer from a distance. Many toil behind the scenes while others are the face of the Institution. But no matter where they work or what they do, they exemplify the spirit of our founder, James Smithson. The gifts they give are not simply to the Smithsonian, but also to the nation and the world.
As warmer weather approaches with its increased visitation, we begin the second season of a program that is a microcosm of the resilience and enthusiasm of our volunteer community: our Smithsonian Ambassador program which was created when the Castle closed to the public. Smithsonian Ambassadors greet visitors on the Mall, provide them with resources and brochures, and help them get to their destination. In its inaugural season in 2023, Smithsonian Ambassadors enhanced the Smithsonian experience for nearly 9,000 visitors. They embody what it means to be the face of the Smithsonian, and their return, coinciding with the renewal of spring, buoys my optimism for the future of the Institution.
We are still in a period of institutional transformation and that has meant some uncertainty for our volunteers. Our Office of Visitor Services (OVS) has been working with all our museums, research centers, and education centers to not only bring back our legacy volunteers, but also recruit new ones. I am so thankful to all those volunteers who have been patiently waiting to return.
From docents to digital volunteers, from research aides in the field to call center volunteers on the phone lines, these unsung heroes are the engine of possibility for the Smithsonian. It has been wonderful to see them connect with us and to embrace the challenges of a changing Institution. I am humbled to lead the Smithsonian and appreciative of our volunteers’ myriad contributions. I look forward to celebrating our volunteers later this spring at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event and hope you enjoy the variety of programming that OVS has set up for this month. My thanks to all.
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Posted: 1 April 2024
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