Thank you for you for your interest in the Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. We have a thriving volunteer program of more than 800 people donating more than 26,000 hours per year. Since the typical full-time employee works 2,000 hours per year, the volunteer staff at Fredericksburg is the equivalent of adding thirteen full-time employees to our roster.
The volunteer staff consists of many people, with diverse backgrounds, working a variety of schedules, motivated by different reasons. Some participate once a year in a special event, while other volunteer once a week all year long, and still others stay in the park for several months working a 40-hour work week. Some volunteers are seeking employment or are preparing to enter the work force; college students, recent graduates or people endeavoring to change careers, aspire to gain experience and job related skills. Some are retired individuals who wish to give something back to an organization they consider to be worthwhile. Volunteers may wish to contact those groups directly.
Among the park volunteer activities are:
HISTORICAL INTERPRETERS--Volunteers work at the visitor center information desks or at historic buildings and work along with National Park Service historians, orienting visitors, informing visitors of tour options, and conducting visitor research. The duty stations include Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center, Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center, "Stonewall" Jackson Shrine and Chatham with two other organizations providing interpretive service at the park historic buildings of Ellwood and Salem Church. Some of the experienced volunteers eventually take additional training and also conduct walking tours. Potential volunteers interested in this experience will be added to a waiting list and contacted when enough other volunteers are interested to form a training class. This is the largest facet of the park's volunteer program. Summer volunteers are invited to attend all of the sessions offered during seasonal training week.
In 1998 the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield began to staff volunteer Historical Interpreters from their organization in the Wilderness Battlefield historic structure "Ellwood," which is normally not open to the public. The building is open weekends from May through the end of October from 11-to 5 p.m.
For several years Salem Baptist Church has opened the Civil War structure "Old Salem Church," which the congregation donated to the National Park Service. A member of the church coordinates the schedule which primarily includes other members of the congregation. The old church is open summer weekends from 3-6 p.m.
HISTORICAL RESEARCHER--Volunteers assist the staff historian to index historical material and create finding guides to better assist researchers to better determine the content of various documents and easily locate items of interest.
MAINTENANCE ASSISTANT--Volunteers help with mowing, gardening, (primarily at Chatham), trimming vegetation from earthworks, painting, and litter pick up. Volunteers may be individuals or groups and may entail :adopting" a particular area. An individual volunteer has "adopted" the entrance to Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield, and kept it mowed during a season. The Knights of Columbus "adopted" the Chancellorsville Inn Site, picking up trash, painting the markers, and painting the cannon carriages.
TRAIL MAINTENANCE WORKER--Most of the trail projects are conducted by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. The Friends of Wilderness Battlefield also constructs bridges and directs some trail maintenance projects. Due to safety factors regarding work often done in isolated sections of the park, trail maintenance is best done by a group.
SPECIAL EVENTS--Living history or reenactment units participate in special events, namely the Anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg ceremony and the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield sponsored Anniversary of Wilderness living history encampment. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts provide the time needed to set out candles for a Memorial Day holiday weekend in the National Cemetery, while nearby school places small American flags on each grave.
Applicants should print out and fill in the internship/volunteer application form and send to the address below or cut and the paste the form into a Microsoft word document which you send as an attachment to O*%2B^JJZ H3.AZ03EJDF%2B &r=/frsp/supportyourpark/index.htm">e-mail us.
For more information contact:
Beth Parnicza
Park Historian
120 Chatham Lane
Fredericksburg, VA 22405
(540) 786-2880
