Volunteering

If you are unemployed, I know where you can find a great job. You can be hired before you even apply and the benefits are out of this world.

Yesterday was my second day working as a volunteer at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Before I left I was given an application to fill out. It is mostly for contact information and in case of an emergency, but I thought it was sort of amusing that I worked two days before I applied for the job.

So far I have been given a variety of jobs and enjoyed all of them. Well, yesterday it was kind of frustrating trying to type some labels on a typewriter. First, I had to get the feel of a typewriter, and then the ribbon jammed. I was relieved when I learned the problem had been building up for a couple days and it was nothing I had done.

Next week I will be "promoted" to a regular job so that whenever I get there I will know where to go and what to do without asking. I will be helping to catalog photographs which are stored in the Archives. There are many, many things in the Archives which need to be cataloged so this is just a drop in the bucket, but it's better than no drop. I did not hesitate when Steve asked if I'd be interested in this kind of work. In fact, it is exactly what I was thinking needs to be done at that place. The Archives is sort of the "Mennonite Attic." People bring things in faster than they can be cataloged. What good is it to have things if they are lost in the pile? But they do not have the resources to hire enough people to do the job.

I know my lifetime will not be long enough to catalog everything in the Archives, but I'll do what I can. So if you are out of work, the historical society can use lots of volunteers to help catalog the archives. You won't get a big paycheck but the sense of satisfaction is the best compensation you can receive.