Now that Memorial Day has marked the beginning of the summer, get out and volunteer at a Museum! Volunteering at a museum can be quite rewarding. Whether it’s the tourists, employees, or fellow volunteers, you’re able to interact with people who are all interested in the similar thing. In society, museums play the role of collecting and caring for objects of scientific, artistic or historical importance and making them available to the public. With more than 17,500 museums in the United States, there’s bound to be one that serves your interests.
1. If you’re interested in finding out more about your own heritage, you may consider volunteering somewhere like the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Chicago, Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena or the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle.
There are also museums dedicated to specific artists, such as the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts or the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And if you’re a little bit country, or a little bit rock ‘n roll, don’t forget the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee or the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
2. When it comes to finding a job, it’s all about who you know and what you can do. And a museum can be the perfect training ground for launching your career.
Working at a museum can help sharpen professional skills like working with the public, organizing programs, raising
money and working with computers. It can also beef up your resume and help facilitate a move from one industry to another — such as a banker who transitions into becoming a history teacher by volunteering at a historical museum.
3. Job searching aside, studies have shown that volunteering leads to greater life satisfaction, lower rates of depression and better mental and physical health, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service.
It’s not just about getting out of the house and finding something to do. Volunteering at a museum expands your network and puts you in contact with patrons, fellow volunteers and museum administrators. If you’re looking for regular employment beyond your volunteer work, this could lead you to the next big thing.
We are beginning our countdown to the 
In just a few short weeks we will be creating a virtual civic hub of thousands in New York City at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors. From CEO roundtables to forums on social media for social good, from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to co-founder , attendees will find inspiration, thought leadership, and solutions, not to mention world-class entertainment at our gala evening event (after all, this is the home of Broadway!). We hope you can join us June 28-30! The conference Web site is 
The numbers of volunteers mobilized by HandsOn Nashville for flood recovery continue to astound. In one month almost 16,000 volunteers have donated more than 66,000 hours, which are worth a projected $1.4 million. The action center has coordinated 881 project sites in that time. On May 26, The Tennessean, Nashville’s major newspaper, published a story headlined “HandsOn Nashville Rises to Challenge” about the tremendous efforts. Please click 
