Opportunities abound at Historic Kenmore and Washington's Ferry Farm for volunteers with an interest in helping further the goals of the Foundation.
ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT ~ Provides an opportunity to gain archaeological experience in the lab. Technical skills useful for these opportunities include photography, illustration, research, exhibit design, database setup/maintenance, desktop publishing, and CAD work.
- Lab Assistants - wash, bag, sort, label, and set up housing for artifacts found at George Washington’s Ferry Farm. Training provided.
- Environmental Projects - work with staff to conserve the environmental integrity of George Washington’s boyhood home. Training is provided.
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ~ Provides behind-the-scenes experience in running a museum.
- Special Events - help with set-up/take-down, distribute brochures, and talk with guests. Special events occur at both sites. Training provided..
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ~ Provides an opportunity to be involved with children’s educational programming and community outreach. Volunteers in this area should be comfortable interacting with children and the public.
- School Programs Interpreters - work with schools and the community to provide information about the people who lived at Ferry Farm and Kenmore. Training provided.
- Special Events - help with set-up/take-down, work with children making craft projects, pass out brochures/maps, talk with guests. Training provided.
- Special Projects - work with staff on special projects such as creating steps and benches at Ferry Farm, painting (murals and walls), researching slavery, and updating scripts for educational programs.
- Tour Interpreters - lead tours at Kenmore. At Ferry Farm, greet visitors and provide information about the site. Training provided.
GARDENERS & GARDEN GUILD ~ Provides education about various native plants and herbs, composting, propagating, container gardening, and other gardening techniques.
- Gardeners - help maintain/preserve the gardens at Kenmore and Ferry Farm, which feature heritage and native plant material. Master Gardeners can earn credit hours toward volunteer requirements.
- Floral Designers - create arrangements for special events using plant material from the grounds of Kenmore and Ferry Farm.
RESTORATION DEPARTMENT ~ Provides an opportunity to obtain technical restoration historic house maintenance experience. Useful technical skills include an interest in, and understanding of, physical preservation and historic structures, and a working knowledge of Word, Excel, and Adobe Photoshop.
- Restoration Assistants - help maintain historic house by summarizing & categorizing restoration reports, mapping moisture contents in walls, poulticing efflorescence, reconstructing joist-hung shelving in basement, and other historic house-related tasks as needed. Training provided.
- Research Assistants - assist with researching architectural and construction details for interpretive 18th-century farm buildings, Civil War shelters, and Native American Indian structures. Prior research skills and basic understanding of historic architecture and construction preferred.
All departments can use volunteers for data entry.
To Become A Volunteer:
Call (540) 373-3381 and ask for the Volunteer Coordinator.
Or open this volunteer application (PDF file), then print and mail to the Volunteer Coordinator (address on form).
All volunteers are required to read the Volunteer Manual.
Acrobat Reader is required to open the volunteer application. If not already installed on your computer, you can download a free copy
(follow the on-screen instructions).