CAPE MAY – If you find yourself with time on your hands and thoughts of volunteering dance in your head, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities Inc. (MAC) probably has a spot for you.
According to Ayeshah Dickerson, MAC’s newly-named volunteer program manager, the variety of opportunities is one advantage MAC offers, along with a chance to interact in Cape May’s historical, art and cultural events.
“If you like museums, art, cultural things, if you want to widen your social network, or if you just want to pour beer, collect tickets, help at a music or crab festival, there’s something for you,” she said. “There are so many reasons for volunteering and taking you into the MAC family. It’s a very welcoming environment.”
Dickerson knows from personal experience just how welcoming. After nearly 20 years “working in corporate America,” she was laid off from her job. She took the time “to step back,” and decided to “go on an adventure.”
A native of Michigan, she found herself in Cape May by way of southern California. She volunteered at the hospital, local theater company and jazz festival, landing at MAC in 2015. “As a volunteer, I helped with the designer house tour, crab fest, and jazz at the Physick Estate,” Dickerson said. “It led to the Christmas season and helping with events then.”
An opening became available, and she was hired in March 2016. She succeeds Barbara Hubmaster, who retired at the end of 2018 as volunteer coordinator.
“Ayeshah started with our organization as a volunteer,” noted Susan Krysiak, MAC’s director of media relations, “so she’s seen our programs from the inside out. Now, as volunteer program manager, we hope this expanded role will reflect how important volunteers are to our success.
“We have a strong, committed volunteer base, but it’s getting older,” she continued. “We need to ramp up our recruitment because of the increased number of events and expansion of our programs. Volunteers are critical to our success.”
One of MAC’s tenants about its volunteer program is getting to know individual, so volunteer opportunities match one’s interests.
Most people go to MAC by interactions through an event or exhibit, or “through conversations that happen at the post office,” according to Dickerson.
“If someone is interested in volunteering, we direct them to our application on the website,” she added. “If you are a snowbird, or live here full-time, everyone has different skill sets to be part of the party.”
If the staff doesn’t know someone, they will be invited to meet in person so they can better know the person’s interests and skills to match with opportunities.
A training session for volunteers is held in the spring and fall, although Dickerson hopes to expand the frequency.
Volunteers have been the lifeblood of MAC since it began in 1970, when it was originally run by volunteers. It wasn’t until more than a decade later before MAC had a full-time paid director.
This past year, some 259 volunteers supplemented a staff of 24 full-time and approximately 125 part-time employees. They volunteered more than 4,670 hours providing a value of $39,635, if they had been paid a minimum wage of $8.50 per hour.
“Volunteers bring years of experience, and we try to make the best use of their skills,” Dickerson said.
Eliza Lotozo, MAC’s director of external affairs, pointed out that volunteers were responsible for translating the Physick Estate tour into Spanish, transcribing historical notes for a project, and have brought their building and gardening skills to the organization’s properties.
“We like hearing from our volunteers so we can make our programs better, evolve into an even better organization,” Dickerson noted. “There’s a really good machine in place, and feedback from our volunteers is discussed when we are planning our events.”
A person of nearly any age can volunteer, she added, as there are many different programs and opportunities.
“We’ve had teens, scouts, even 8- and 9-year-olds who were elves at Christmas,” Krysiak said. “If you can’t stand for long periods of time and need a chair, we can accommodate you. We are always looking for volunteers.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact MAC through its website www.capemaymac.org .
