Spotlight on Museum Volunteers
It is National Volunteer Week, and the Museum would like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of volunteers who donate their time, helping the Museum to provide its visitors with a better understanding of our collective heritage.
The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum are proud to have 313 volunteers, currently working on 73 different projects. These projects offer volunteers a wide range of activities in several areas, including research, archives, library services, special events, preparation of material for activities and programs at the Children’s Museum, as well as mailings and administrative tasks.
Volunteers at the Canadian Museum of History’s annual volunteer recognition event.
Betsy Mann is one of the Museum’s longest-serving volunteers, with nearly 40 years’ experience at our institution. We recently asked her about volunteering at the Museum. Here is what Betsy had to say:
Museum: Why did you first start volunteering for the Canadian Museum of History?
Betsy: When Nancy Ruddell interviewed me in 1976 – the first year we could volunteer for school programs – I thought it was a great bargain. Free courses in history, ethnology and anthropology, in exchange for just a few hours of my time each week. I never imagined the extent of the bargain she was offering me! Over the past 39 years, my training has included presentations in history, religion, ethnology, archaeology, anthropology, museology, weather, musicology, geography, historiography, art history, mythology, contemporary Inuit sculpture and winemaking.
Museum: Why have you continued to volunteer for so long?
Betsy: It’s always seemed to me that I get more than I give. In addition to providing me with knowledge in various fields, the Museum also gave me skills that I could transfer to my paid employment. I gained confidence when it came to speaking in front of groups without being shy. Beyond gaining knowledge and skills, being a volunteer led me to people who shared my interests and my enthusiasm for learning and interaction with visitors. At the beginning, most of the other volunteers were older than me, and, over the years, their example inspired me. I truly saw that age is not an obstacle to an active and engaged life. Perhaps the greatest benefit of volunteering is the possibility that we have to inspire a spirit of giving in others.
Betsy Mann, one of the Museum’s longest-serving volunteers.
Museum: Do you have a favourite memory or experience from volunteering at the Museum?
Betsy: I try to enrich the experience of visitors by encouraging them to make links between what they see in an exhibition and their own lives. For example, I once encountered a woman standing in front of a showcase in the exhibition Ancient Treasures and the Dead Sea Scrolls who shared a touching memory with me. When she was young and living in Poland, her grandfather had recited a benediction on his deathbed – the same benediction she now saw on the ancient artifact before her. It gave me chills, and I am honoured that I was there to hear her story.
Museum: Which exhibitions have you worked on while volunteering for the Museum? Do you have a favourite?
Betsy: I began as a volunteer at the National Museum of Man, working with school groups. I continued that work at the Canadian Museum of Civilization for some 15 years, before undertaking my current work interacting with visitors in special exhibitions. It is difficult to choose a favourite exhibition, but one of the most memorable for me was Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures. It presented an image so different from the one we had of the country at that time. What cultural wealth and what a rich history! It was a great pleasure to be able to spend time near these wonders and to help visitors discover them.