Spring Means Maymont
By Lisa Schaffner
It’s time to shake off the winter blues and get out the door. Springtime is here, and we love it! This spring you’ll love being outside even more by Giving Back and volunteering. Maymont is a perfect choice.
Maymont is a 100-acre park in Richmond that includes animal and nature exhibits, gardens and a historic mansion. It takes hundreds of volunteers to keep the place running and free of charge. Maymont volunteer coordinator Sonja Taylor tells me that last year 450 volunteers donated 14,000 hours. As a volunteer, you can choose from a variety of special events or positions.
For example, in April and May, “Elegant Entertaining” takes place daily at Maymont Mansion, where volunteers don period costumes and depict 1890s social life in full color. At the 18th annual Maymont Family Easter on April 11, volunteers will assist with baby animals at the Children’s Farm, bonnet making and face painting. There are similar volunteer opportunities at Herbs Galore & More on April 25 and April’s fourth annual VCU Tree Skirt Exhibition.
If you’re looking for more of a time commitment, check out the Web site www.maymont.org for dozens of volunteer opportunities at the Nature Center, Maymont Shop, Maymont Mansion and Children’s Farm. You can volunteer several days a month for gardening and grounds work, or to be a tour guide or exhibit interpreter. There’s even a need for animal cleanup specialists. It’s a dirty job, but I’m told it’s very rewarding!
The only Maymont volunteer requirement: You must be at least 16 years of age. For you and me, that’s no restriction at all!
HERE'S SOMETHING
Here's somthing that Boomer Life reader Jess Barton e-mailed me. It’s in the spirit of spring, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Take the “Cyclist for the Bay” pledge.
It’s easy to do. Click on the Web site www.cbf.org/cyclist and make the pledge to support cycling and its positive impact on our local environment. After you sign up, you’ll receive several e-mails during the year inviting you to cycling events, says Barton, the Virginia grassroots coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. You’ll also be periodically updated on water quality issues.
SPEAKING OF FREE AND EASY
Speaking of free and easy to use, you’ve got to check out our expanded Giving Back section of our Web site, www.boomerlifemagazine.com (coming in May, 2009). Volunteering and finding out about local events have never been easier.
Right now, nonprofit organizations can post upcoming events and volunteer needs. Starting May 1, those of you wanting to volunteer can search for an organization matching your needs. Let’s say you want to volunteer four hours a week and work with animals. You plug in the information, and you could be matched with Maymont, the Richmond SPCA or AARF, Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation of Richmond. It’s new, exciting and all about Giving Back.
Let me know what you think about the Web site changes and how to make the site work for you. Also, drop me an e-mail detailing your nonprofit and what makes it so great. I’ve heard from many of you about your Giving Back opportunities, and you’ll be hearing about them here in the pages of Boomer Life in the months ahead. Next issue: a major volunteer cleanup project and a homeless feeding program at which a daughter and father volunteer – ideas passed to me by our great Boomer Life readers.
BY THE WAY
By the way, in March, I volunteered with the Easter Seals for the annual Eggstravaganza, an adult black-tie egg hunt. What a hoot! I even donned an Egg-cellent Egg-couture hairdo. See it in the Cutting Room Floor. It's worth checking out, folks. And send me your volunteer pictures, too. I’ll work on getting them on the Web site. It’s always fun seeing what your friends are doing and how they’re Giving Back.
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Lisa Schaffner, a former WRIC-TV anchor, is public relations director for UNOS. Contact her at
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