Kidswork Museum Dependent on Volunteer Help

Frankfort resident Jackie Ball smiled warmly and moved effortlessly among children screaming and laughing as they made new discoveries recently at the in Frankfort. Ball is one of 11 volunteers that donate time and so much more to the museum.

She said she's volunteered since the first day that the museum, which serves children from throughout the area, opened.

"I had just retired and ... looking for something to fill my time,” she said. “I have a big family and just really enjoy kids.” She now comes in once a week for 3 and half hours at a time.

As a volunteer, her primary responsibilities are to interact with museum visitors—children as well as their parents—while also keeping things tidy.

On the day I was there, the space steadily filled up with kids, which would mean a lot of tidying and straightening of the many hands-on exhibits. By day's end, about 100 kids came through; that's more than twice the normal amount as it was not only spring break week, but also a wet dreary day.

Paid staff member Kristin Cobb was there, as well, working the register and greeting guests as they entered. Cobb is also a member of the museum's committee responsible for volunteers.

She pointed out that in addition to working with guests on the museum floor, some volunteers prefer to work behind the scenes. That's just fine as they have not only office-type work to be done but also general museum maintenance.

“We have a lot of volunteers' spouses that have been involved with handy work,” Cobb said. “All the volunteers are women and a lot of the time, they're like, 'Let me call my husband about that'” when repairs to an existing display are needed or a new display is going up.

She also explained how some volunteers even go the extra mile to offer their own story time. “We don't have a set time, but a volunteer might walk around and invite the kids to sit down for a story.”

Of the current volunteers, Cobb pointed out that “they're all over 50, all retired, some of them have had experience (with kids, i.e. teacher or park district). We're not looking for that necessarily, but that's just how it's played out.”

With 11 active volunteers, KidsWork is beginning an effort to recruit more now that they have signed a new three-year lease on their space.

Brenda Kushner, in charge of Volunteer Programming and a Founding Board Member, will be taking the lead on that. “Basically, we need people to be on committees, we need people to be in the museum, we need goodwill ambassadors out there spreading the word on what we're doing,” she explained.

Kushner went on to point out that while in the past the museum had set 21 as a minimum age for volunteering, they are working on updating that. They hope soon to utilize high school students in need of community service hours, perhaps for cleaning and special events.

Regardless of their age, Kushner says that volunteers are a key component to the museum's success.

“They're critical because of the fact that we are a not-for-profit organization," Kushner said. "We run on a very bare minimum staff and when volunteers don't come in, it's very hard to cover that. There have been days when there's only been one staff member there and it's really, really hard for her to manage the register, manage the store and manage the floor and get upstairs and make sure everyone's safe. So when a volunteer doesn't show up or we don't have any scheduled, it's really, really hard.”

She should know; Wednesdays she is typically working in a volunteer role on the museum floor. In her role as head of the Volunteer Programming committee, she is working on a number of efforts, too. Among them is the posting of volunteer's pictures on a wall in the museum for appreciation of their efforts as well as offering an open orientation session every other month. There would be no obligation to attendees but, rather, just a chance for people to understand better the opportunity presented at the museum to give back to the community.

It's all part of getting more volunteers involved, “one of our main objectives,” as Kushner explained. “We value them so much. And it really gives a sense of value to the person who is volunteering, too. It's a gift that can't be equaled anywhere, to go someplace and feel appreciated.”

Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact the museum at 815-469-1199 or through their website at www.kidsworkchildrensmuseum.org. All ages, interests and abilities are welcome and do not need to be a Frankfort resident.