Open Forum

Hi everyone!
I manage the volunteer Docents at Washington National Cathedral and have already started thinking about when we reopen. Most of my Docents are 60-80yro. I'm considering sending the Docents a survey to get a sense of what they are currently thinking about reopening - specifically if we reopen and they are not comfortable/able to return at the same time. I wonder if many of them will wait until a vaccine is available. Has anyone surveyed their volunteers about reopening and what that may look like for them? If you have, would you mind sharing your survey? Thanks!
 Wishing everyone a healthy and safe week!
  Jenn

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Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
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Hi Jennifer,

We've been having similar conversations at The Contemporary Austin regarding our docents, most of which are also 60+. A survey is a great idea, and I'll propose this to our team who coordinates their tours. While discussing our eventual re-opening, we noted that docent-led tours of any size would likely be a later step down the road as we ease back into our onsite programming. Hope to share more soon! 

Best,
Sarah

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Sarah Schultz
Events Production Manager
The Contemporary Austin
Austin TX
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On a much smaller scale, we will encounter the same issue.  And virtually all of our big events, fundraising or otherwise, are planned or manned by volunteers.  Hadn't thought of a survey. Will be watching here.

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Deborah Bell
Central Sierra Historical Society & Museum
Shaver Lake CA
------------------------------

Hi Jennifer,

You might be interested in participating in this survey that is being put together for the arts and culture sector. It's not limited to only surveying volunteers, but it seems like volunteers could be included as an audience.
http://culturetrack.com/COVIDstudy/

Take care, 
Becca

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Becca Hatheway
Informal Education Programs Manager
National Center-Atmospheric Research
Boulder CO
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Becca, 

The Culture Track resource/survey looks promising.  I would be interested to know what other institutions participate.  Thank you for the link.

Sincerely,
Christina

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Christina Brown
Director of Membership Programs
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-15-2020 01:08 PM
From: Becca Hatheway
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hi Jennifer,

You might be interested in participating in this survey that is being put together for the arts and culture sector. It's not limited to only surveying volunteers, but it seems like volunteers could be included as an audience.
http://culturetrack.com/COVIDstudy/

Take care,
Becca

------------------------------
Becca Hatheway
Informal Education Programs Manager
National Center-Atmospheric Research
Boulder CO
------------------------------

------Original Message------

Hi everyone!
I manage the volunteer Docents at Washington National Cathedral and have already started thinking about when we reopen. Most of my Docents are 60-80yro. I'm considering sending the Docents a survey to get a sense of what they are currently thinking about reopening - specifically if we reopen and they are not comfortable/able to return at the same time. I wonder if many of them will wait until a vaccine is available. Has anyone surveyed their volunteers about reopening and what that may look like for them? If you have, would you mind sharing your survey? Thanks!
 Wishing everyone a healthy and safe week!
  Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for posting a great question that is on so many of our minds!  I agree that a survey seems like a wise and respectful move. 
I will keep my eyes open for anything and when we tackle this - I will happily share a draft. 
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Cheers,
Andrea

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Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Historic Site Director
Carlyle House Historic Park
------------------------------

Thanks everyone! I'm working with my Docent Committee now to craft a survey and I'll be happy to share when it's done. A little note - when I emailed my Docent Committee about creating the survey, they promptly responded with loads of general thoughts and ideas about reopening, not just about a survey. I now will make sure that I will have a comment section for the survey because they are clearly thinking about reopening as much as we are! :)
Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2020 09:47 AM
From: Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for posting a great question that is on so many of our minds!  I agree that a survey seems like a wise and respectful move.
I will keep my eyes open for anything and when we tackle this - I will happily share a draft.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Cheers,
Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Historic Site Director
Carlyle House Historic Park
------------------------------

Hello Jennifer,

I'd love to see the survey that you're sending to your docents.  Is that something you'd be willing to share? 
My email address is kathy.dumlao@brooksmuseum.org.
Thanks!

Kathy

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Katherine Dumlao
Director of Education and Interpretation
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Memphis TN
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2020 01:19 PM
From: Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Thanks everyone! I'm working with my Docent Committee now to craft a survey and I'll be happy to share when it's done. A little note - when I emailed my Docent Committee about creating the survey, they promptly responded with loads of general thoughts and ideas about reopening, not just about a survey. I now will make sure that I will have a comment section for the survey because they are clearly thinking about reopening as much as we are! :)
Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2020 09:47 AM
From: Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for posting a great question that is on so many of our minds!  I agree that a survey seems like a wise and respectful move.
I will keep my eyes open for anything and when we tackle this - I will happily share a draft.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Cheers,
Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Historic Site Director
Carlyle House Historic Park

Jennifer, I would be interested in your volunteer survey. eendslow@chestercohistorical.org 

Thank you in advance!

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Ellen Endslow
Director of Collections/Curator
Chester County Historical Society
West Chester PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2020 01:19 PM
From: Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Thanks everyone! I'm working with my Docent Committee now to craft a survey and I'll be happy to share when it's done. A little note - when I emailed my Docent Committee about creating the survey, they promptly responded with loads of general thoughts and ideas about reopening, not just about a survey. I now will make sure that I will have a comment section for the survey because they are clearly thinking about reopening as much as we are! :)
Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2020 09:47 AM
From: Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for posting a great question that is on so many of our minds!  I agree that a survey seems like a wise and respectful move.
I will keep my eyes open for anything and when we tackle this - I will happily share a draft.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Cheers,
Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Historic Site Director
Carlyle House Historic Park

I would definitely be interested in this, Jennifer!

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Jessica Trump
Volunteer and Internship Programs Supervisor
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning NY
------------------------------

I too, would be interested in examining the survey for volunteers and docents. ​

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Jan Smith
Executive Director
Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass
Neenah WI
------------------------------

Hi Jenn,

I also have been thinking about sending a survey to our volunteers as we think about reopening and what that will look like for our museum. 
I'd love to hear your thoughts about what you will include in your survey and some of the feedback provided by the docents through the Docent Committee.
Wishing you all a safe and productive week. 


All the best,
Allison Mannon

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Allison Mannon
Volunteer Manager
Museum of the Bible
Washington DC
------------------------------

Hello Jennifer,

We are working on one as well at our museum - please share information if you would and thank you!

Myrna Hawbaker

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Myrna Hawbaker
Volunteer Coordinator
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning NY
------------------------------

Hello Jennifer,

We are planning on having a virtual session with our volunteers to discuss certain scenarios on when we do reopen.  We have many areas where our volunteers interact with our visitors and we need to modify their positions.

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Carol Thomson
Volunteer Program Manager
Museum of Flight
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2020 11:19 AM
From: Myrna Hawbaker
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hello Jennifer,

We are working on one as well at our museum - please share information if you would and thank you!

Myrna Hawbaker

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Myrna Hawbaker
Volunteer Coordinator
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning NY
------------------------------

I'm interested to know how institutions are approaching the topic of volunteering...period.  What is determining your threshold for permitting volunteers to be back on site?  Obviously, there are the health department guidelines; however, certain volunteers may want to come back, but should not due to health conditions. 
-Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Cochrane Tracey
Historic Site Director
Carlyle House Historic Park
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2020 11:54 AM
From: Carol Thomson
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hello Jennifer,

We are planning on having a virtual session with our volunteers to discuss certain scenarios on when we do reopen.  We have many areas where our volunteers interact with our visitors and we need to modify their positions.

------------------------------
Carol Thomson
Volunteer Program Manager
Museum of Flight
Seattle WA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-22-2020 11:19 AM
From: Myrna Hawbaker
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Hello Jennifer,

We are working on one as well at our museum - please share information if you would and thank you!

Myrna Hawbaker

------------------------------
Myrna Hawbaker
Volunteer Coordinator
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning NY

Hi Jennifer,
Would love to see this survey as well.  Informally, when speaking with volunteers I have asked for their thoughts on returning. So far, everyone wants to return when we reopen..  We are not a hot spot for Covid-19 in this community and most volunteers are eager to return to something that resembles a normal life. We shall see..

------------------------------
Deborah Price
Volunteer and Group Tour Manager
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
Winchester, VA
------------------------------

Hi Jennifer and all,

I manage the docents for the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, FL.  Like most other volunteer groups, majority of our docents are 60-80.  As the museum plans for reopening and events over the summer, I am concerned about our docent availability.  I created a short survey (using Survey Monkey) for the docents asking them who will be in town, who will be available and willing to conduct tours, what safety precautions would make them feel comfortable returning to the museum, and what type of tours would they like to lead (as we have tours for children, adults, the community, unstructured "tours", etc).  All of the questions are multiple choice (except for the safety precaution question which is open box) to help determine who is not available and why (some docents may be traveling and I don't want to assume their absence is because of COVID-19).  I've also seen on other forums that managers want hold a training for their volunteers to help them return to work.  I am considering this so the docents know what precautions our museum is taking.  I hope this helps.

Jeanene Watters
Museum Educator
Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
Jacksonville, FL

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Jeanene Watters
Museum Educator
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
Jacksonville FL
------------------------------

Hi Jennifer,
I am also working on a survey for our volunteers. It is more about their overall experience, but will include some questions related to the COVID-19 crisis. I would love to see your survey. I'm happy to share our questions as well, if you are interested. Thanks!

My email is sheila.brommel@mnhs.org

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Sheila Brommel
Evaluation Specialist
Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul MN
------------------------------

Happy Thurwedaturday (because I don't know what day it is anymore :))!

 Hopefully everyone can read the attachment of the survey for the National Cathedral's Docents. Thanks to the MO Historical Society for sharing what they already had and helping me get the framework for my survey. I hope this is helpful for many of you! I'll be happy to share results as well.
 
  Jenn

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Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------

Great and thank you for continuing this conversation. We have 350 volunteers who are highly dedicated, but also in the most vulnerable demographic. We have some built-in limits since we're on a Naval Air Station (controlled by the Department of Defense), but many of them have military IDs that will get them onto base. We're looking at various phased-in options, and will continue to follow and contribute!

Best,

Marc

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Marc Levitt MLS
Archivist
National Naval Aviation Museum
NAS Pensacola FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-23-2020 04:59 PM
From: Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Happy Thurwedaturday (because I don't know what day it is anymore :))!

 Hopefully everyone can read the attachment of the survey for the National Cathedral's Docents. Thanks to the MO Historical Society for sharing what they already had and helping me get the framework for my survey. I hope this is helpful for many of you! I'll be happy to share results as well.

  Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------

------Original Message------

Happy Thurwedaturday (because I don't know what day it is anymore :))!

 Hopefully everyone can read the attachment of the survey for the National Cathedral's Docents. Thanks to the MO Historical Society for sharing what they already had and helping me get the framework for my survey. I hope this is helpful for many of you! I'll be happy to share results as well.
 
  Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------

Hi Jennifer,  Thank you so much for sharing your survey!  It was very helpful.  How did you distribute this, did you use survey monkey, Cognito forms, or another platform?  

Kathy Gleditsch

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North Carolina Museum of History
Raleigh NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-23-2020 04:59 PM
From: Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Subject: Reopening and Volunteer survey

Happy Thurwedaturday (because I don't know what day it is anymore :))!

 Hopefully everyone can read the attachment of the survey for the National Cathedral's Docents. Thanks to the MO Historical Society for sharing what they already had and helping me get the framework for my survey. I hope this is helpful for many of you! I'll be happy to share results as well.

  Jenn

------------------------------
Jennifer Michaelree Squire
Deputy Director of Visitor Programs
Washington National Cathedral
Washington DC
------------------------------