5 Reasons to Volunteer

Oh boy – someone else asking me to do something for free. I bet that’s what you are thinking.

Yes, we can use some volunteers at the Franklin County Historical Society.  We need people to help create tours and lead them, to clip newspaper articles and obituaries, to file things, to work in the museum, to take out bushes at the Old Stone House, to plant gardens at Harriman Nielsen Historic Farm, to come to clean up day for Pleasant Hill and help, to join the Machinery Hall committee and be involved.   Later in this post I will give you contact information for those interested.

Let’s first talk about what volunteering can do for you.  That’s right — there are benefits to volunteering.

1. You help your community thereby helping yourself.
2. You expand your knowledge base.
3. You meet people you’d probably never meet.
4. You teach your children the valuable lesson that giving back pays.
5. You change lives, including your own.

The Historical Society in Franklin County, Iowa needs your help.  We depend on volunteers and frankly, our current volunteers are simply the best.  But they are getting older and would like to teach others what they know.  So we can continue to share our history with our residents and visitors.

Old Stone House: Deb Brown deb@debworks.com

Harriman Nielsen Historic Farm: Berry Johnson (3 p.m. M-F at merry bees), Doreen Petersen

REA Plant: Brook Boehmler

Historical Museum: 2-4 pm stop by and see what they need

Machinery Hall Committee: Joel Eslinger

Pleasant Hill Cleanup: Deb Brown (date not yet determined, but will be a week or two before the fair)

If you don’t know how to reach these people, just contact me (deb@debworks.com)  If you don’t live in Franklin County, but would like to donate visit www.oldstonehouse.org If you’re looking for someplace in your own community to volunteer just call your local Chamber of Commerce and ask for the listing of service organizations.  They all need help.