Historic Columbia Foundation Seeks Volunteers Able To Donate 6 or More Hours a Month: New Volunteer Training Class Runs June 18 – August 20, 2012

COLUMBIA, SC (May 24, 2012) – Historic Columbia Foundation’s new volunteer training class kicks off on June 18, 2012, with a total of eight sessions running through August 20, 2012.  Each session lasts approximately 90 minutes and begins at 10 am. Schedule below.  Those not able to attend the first session are still welcome to pick up the training on June 25.

Those able to donate at least 6 hours a month towards the Foundation’s mission to nurture, support, and protect the historical and cultural heritage of Columbia and its environs are encouraged to participate in the training.  Volunteers will learn about the organization, its historic house museums, historic gardens and grounds, historic neighborhoods, Columbia and Richland County history and more.   More information can be found online at http://historiccolumbia.org/site/calendar/2012/06/18/events/new-volunteer-training.

Volunteer Training Sessions:
June 18: Orientation (Seibels House, 1601 Richland Street)
June 25: Mann-Simons History (Mann-Simons Site,1403 Richland Street)
July 9: Gardens of Historic Columbia Foundation Properties (Carriage House, 1616 Blanding Street)
July 16: Collections and Woodrow Wilson History (Carriage House, 1616 Blanding Street)
July 23: Tour Techniques, Seibels’ and Kitchen House (Seibels House, 1601 Richland Street)
July 30: Hampton-Preston History (Carriage House, 1616 Blanding Street)
Aug 13: Robert Mills History (Carriage House, 1616 Blanding Street)
Aug 20: Overview of Columbia’s Early History (Seibels House, 1601 Richland Street)

Volunteer opportunities include:

• Historic house museum tours,
• Walking tours,
• Step-on tours around Columbia,
• Gardening work days on a seasonal basis to tend to the historic grounds and gardens of Historic Columbia Foundation,
• Assisting the Education Department,
• Administrative and Rental assistance, and
• Assisting the Cultural Resources department on an as-needed basis

Volunteer benefits include:

• Complimentary entrance into the historic house museums (volunteer and members of his/her immediate family),
• Free or reduced rates towards admission to special Historic Columbia Foundation functions,
• A 15% discount on museum shop purchases, and
• A free subscription to Historically Speaking, Historic Columbia Foundation’s quarterly newsletter.

For more information on how to find your place with us, contact Ann Posner, Coordinator of Volunteer and Visitor Services at 803.252.1770, ext. 24 oraposner@historiccolumbia.org.

Members of the media are encouraged to contact Ashley Tucker at 803.252.7742 ext. 16, or atucker@historiccolumbia.org for more information.

About volunteering at HCF, Robin Waites, Executive Director of Historic Columbia Foundation says, “By volunteering at Historic Columbia Foundation, you meet new people, visit historic sites, and discover the culture and lifestyles of South Carolina’s capital city and Richland County”.

On her volunteer experience, Historic Columbia Foundation volunteer Pat Ceresoli says, “Volunteering at Historic Columbia Foundation has given me the opportunity to meet many warm, interesting, and intelligent people including staff, volunteers, and visitors to the houses”.

Historic Columbia Foundation was founded in 1961 by a group of preservationists determined to save the Ainsley Hall House, known today as the Robert Mills House.  More than five decades later, Historic Columbia Foundation manages four historic house museums and their associated artifacts, and tells the stories of people, places and progress in Columbia and Richland County. For more information, please visit http://www.historiccolumbia.org.

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