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COMMUNITY
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth,” said Muhammad Ali, and as a longtime lover of volunteering, I know that giving back to one’s community is its own reward. Volunteers are paid with something more lasting than money: friendships are formed and new or renewed interests are sparked. The job comes with creative challenges—starting a new project, finding a better way to approach an old problem, or learning about a new area of history—that I find incredibly rewarding.
More than 11 years ago I came to The Collection as a docent and developed a deeper interest in history than I had ever experienced before. Giving tours of the Louisiana History Galleries to visitors from all corners of the world, as well as to locals, brought history alive for me. Giving tours of the Williams Residence was always a pleasure, as visitors so enjoy the beauty of the property and hearing about the period and lifestyle of THNOC founders Leila and Kemper Williams.
In 2006 I was asked to find volunteers to help staff the exhibition Common Routes: St. Domingue—Louisiana, which was expected to attract a record number of visitors. The enthusiasm of these volunteers during the run of the exhibition—which proved to be enormously popular—as well as The Collection’s growth as an institution during this
time, led to the formation of THNOC’s first permanent volunteer program. These volunteers, now numbering 70 dedicated people ranging in age from 16 to 85, form a crucial arm of The Collection’s frontline staff. Some are students from high school and college who bring their fresh outlook to the position; others are retirees from a wide variety of careers, whose personal experiences and backgrounds add depth to their interactions with visitors. Others, still employed, help in their spare time. All
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14 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly