Volunteers – we couldn’t do it without them!

Blogger Tyler Copp is an intern with the human resources department at The Corning Museum of Glass. He is finishing his last semester at Mansfield University and will graduate in May with his bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management.

In 2016, our 259 volunteers, ranging from 13 to 95 years old, logged a whopping total of 12,547 hours at CMoG. That’s more than 34 hours of work by volunteers per day! Those numbers just go to show how dedicated our Museum volunteers are. During this year’s National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 23 through 29, The Corning Museum of Glass would like to recognize the volunteers who dedicated their time to making the Museum such a great place to visit.

I wondered what makes people want to dedicate so much of their time to volunteering at the Museum. So I went out and asked a few volunteers what makes them so eager to come back and volunteer so much of their time, day in and day out. Here is what they had to say:

“Where else can you work and be surrounded by such beautiful art? It’s just amazing, [The Corning Museum of Glass] is an amazing place. You meet people from all over the world, including many of the major contemporary artists that come to the Museum. Toots Zynsky was here last summer and talked to the docents for an hour and a half about her work and her life … If I have a passion, it’s glass, and I couldn’t be in better place to nurture that passion.” — John Kohut, has been a volunteer for about 10 years.

 

“Sacrificing your time and giving back to the community is what it is all about. Volunteering is great because you can [incorporate] what you learn from being a volunteer into your job.” — Laura Storm, has been a volunteer for about five years.

 

 

 

“I love doing the school group tours. The comments some kids make are quite funny and insightful. Being able to do tours and work with people gives me a focus … The staff, volunteers, and visitors are just so grateful and appreciative. You learn a lot here and it makes [life] interesting.” — Elizabeth Berliner, has been a volunteer for more than four years.

 

 

 

“I love glass, and this place is the Mecca of glass. Artist and scientists come here from all over the world. It’s the richest resource on glass and the [Rakow Research Library] is just so thorough. The people you work with are really wonderful as well. They are kind, encouraging, supportive, and flexible. … Everything you learn in life you want to be able to share it. To me this is an opportunity to do just that.” — Joanna Porecca, has been a volunteer for two years

 

“Being a volunteer at the Museum gives me a purpose. I don’t know what I would be doing if I wasn’t a volunteer at the Corning Museum of Glass. I do other things besides volunteer but this gives me something to look forward to. It keeps me going and it keeps me young” — Joe Coletta, has been a volunteer for about eight years

 

 

I want to give a huge thank you to all the volunteers who come and give their time to make the Museum such a great place to visit! If you aren’t currently a volunteer and would like to know more about becoming an adult volunteer, or a teen volunteer, visit our website to learn more.