SDCHM Volunteer Program
About the Volunteer Program:
SDCHM volunteers contribute their time, talents and energy, helping our mission in many valuable ways. Volunteering offers rewarding opportunities for growth and personal enrichment. Enhance visitors’ understanding of the history of San Diego. Conduct tours of our dynamic exhibitions. Work with our collections and brush up on your library skills. Join like-minded individuals and meet new people, gain knowledge, experience and help tell the story of our community.
VOLUNTEER BENEFITS
- Museum store discounts including 30% discount on books and other educational materials and 15% discount on all other merchandise.
- Free admission to our galleries in downtown San Diego.
- Free admission to SDCHM lectures, space permitting.
- Receive copies of the SDCHM newsletter, with informative articles and updates.
- Opportunities to make new friends, utilize your unique skills and build your resume while sharing your passion for San Diego history.
Volunteer opportunities
Docents
Docents facilitate interactive, inquiry-based tours of our sites and of San Diego's historic Chinatown for adult and school groups. The SDCHM Docent Training team provides instruction for prospective docents. A one-year commitment is required.
Here is information about the training process:
- You can start at any time by signing up to volunteer as a docent, and we will assign you a mentor
- You can review all the files and recordings we have available online to learn at your convenience
- You will follow your mentor or other docents in tours for a minimum of three months and 10 visits to the museum
- You will be scheduled to give a sample tour to a group of three people for evaluation
Front Desk Support
Operations volunteers help with basic aspects involved in running the Museum; such as collecting admissions fees, supporting data entry efforts, organizing files, and other tasks.
Education Program
Education program volunteers support the Museum's offerings for schools and organized groups, assisting with SDCHM Classroom Exhibit Presentations and hands-on workshops.
Collections
Collections volunteers work closely with the staff on data entry and cataloguing of the SDCHM collections (objects of everyday life, historic clothing and textiles, decorative and fine art). Knowledge of museum terminology helpful; experience working with computers and willingness to sit at a computer for extended periods of time; attention to detail and accuracy a must along with legible and neat handwriting.