Volunteer Week 2013

This week across the country, 13.3 million volunteers are being honoured through National Volunteer Week - and for us the ROM's many dedicated volunteers have pride of place!

The contribution of the ROM's Volunteers is immeasurable.  It’s woven into the rich history of the museum and is fundamental to the organization’s past, present and future success.  This year, we’re recognizing the vital contribution of our volunteers by participating in the national campaign - Volunteers Cast a Beautiful Shadow.  You’ll see signage and posters throughout the museum and volunteer profile blogs featured this week.  

Last fiscal year, over 47,000 hours volunteer hours were contributed by over 500 people who dedicated their time and talents to benefit the ROM. (These are only the “official” hours - there are probably at least as many spent in preparation for various duties.) At the forefront of ROM volunteerism, the Department of Museum Volunteers (DMV) have dedicated more than fifty years of service and philanthropy to the ROM in many areas including education, programs, curatorial and administration.  

Our volunteers contribute to a variety of diverse areas, including the DMV Executive, Visitor Guides, Discovery Centre & Hands on Biodiversity, Explorers Club, Records and Archives, Programs & Events, Museum Interpretation, Bishop White Committee, Friends Groups, Outreach, ROMtravel, ROMwalk, ROMBus, and Museum Interpretation including Docents, Gallery Interpreters, Guides du ROM, and Visitor Guides, together with volunteers supporting collection and research work.

Many of our volunteers consider their early interactions with the ROM as formative inspiration to their desire to preserve and build on what they love and value about the Museum. Many examples of impressive longevity abound, including dedicated individuals who have made enormous contributions to the Museum for decades. This desire to give back often stems from a personal experience with the Museum – over 90% of ROM Camp volunteers (Summer Club, March Break Camp, Saturday Morning Club, Tiny Tots, ROM Moms) are former ROM campers, and many went through the Summer Club Leadership program.

National Volunteer Week presents an ideal opportunity to thank all of our volunteers for their important work.  

Janet Carding
ROM Director & CEO