Volunteering
An opportunity to serve a museum and a community.
Opportunities abound for volunteers with many (and often disparate) interests at The Lincoln Museum. Some volunteers prefer the solitude of clerical tasks or computer work, while others thrive on the social interaction that often occurs in The Museum Store.
We need all of you. Please consider volunteering at The Lincoln Museum. It’s a chance of a lifetime to help thousands interpret, enjoy and understand the extraordinary life and lasting contributions of Abraham Lincoln.
Click here for volunteer application form.
Lifeline and Backbone
Volunteers serve as the backbone of The Lincoln Museum. Through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, visitors from around the world can enjoy the many exhibits at The Lincoln Museum. Volunteers help share and showcase one of the world’s finest collections of Lincoln-related materials.
As a volunteer, your responsibility begins when you agree to perform the tasks identified in your volunteer position. In return for your commitment, time and talents, The Lincoln Museum offers you store discounts, training, the chance to enjoy a wide variety of experiences, camaraderie with other volunteers and museum staff, satisfaction of making a personal and significant contribution to your community, volunteer recognition events, and the opportunity to gain marketing skills and experience.Volunteers also earn a Basic Level Membership after completing 20 hours of active volunteer service!
All volunteers are asked to complete an application form and those volunteering at The Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne will be interviewed by a member of The Lincoln Museum staff.
A wide range of opportunities and experience awaits The Lincoln Museum volunteer. Please read on to see which positions interest you most.
Visitor Services Volunteers
Volunteers at the Visitor Services Desk provide a first and vital impression of The Lincoln Museum to its patrons. As a Visitors Services Volunteer, you answer all incoming telephone calls to The Lincoln Museum, provide answers to callers or direct questions to Museum staff about Lincoln and The Lincoln Museum, collect admission fees, offer general tourism and community-related information to museum visitors. Volunteering in the Museum Store offers volunteers a chance to meet the public while tending the largest museum store in northeast Indiana. As a Visitor Services Volunteer, you will be asked to asist customers, stock and straighten shelves, assist with display design and creation, and operate the cash register.
Visitor Services Volunteers provide the first and last impression of The Lincoln Museum!
Clerical and Computer
Those assisting in clerical and computer-related tasks face a broad and important range of duties. These volunteers prepare mailings, offer general office assistance, do computer data entry, answer phones and assist in special museum projects that require clerical and computer-related support.
Docents (Tour Guides)
Volunteer docents receive specialized training American history, Lincoln Museum history and specifically Abraham Lincoln, of course! Once you successfully complete the training, you will be able to guide tours of the museum’s exhibits and answer visitors’ history-related questions.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer docent at The Lincoln Museum, plan to take the Docent Training Course. The course covers the period of American History portrayed in the permanent exhibit, Abraham Lincoln and the American Experiment.
The course is free, but volunteers are expected to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours in the twelve months following completion of the course, and there is a $15 charge for course materials. No experience or special knowledge is required to take the Docent Training Course and become a Lincoln Museum Docent—just an interest in American history, an outgoing personality, and a pair of comfortable shoes.
For more detailed information about Docenting, call the Director of Education at 260-455-5606 or email Sarah.Chesebrough@TheLincolnMuseum.org.
Special Events
Volunteers are also needed during after-hour private receptions and meetings at The Lincoln Museum. These volunteers act as hosts if needed, assist in monitoring the exhibit, staffing the Visitors Services Desk and assisting in The Museum Store. You have the opportunity to meet and greet a wide variety of guests from all over the world at our events!
Web Volunteers Welcome
Since 1928, The Lincoln Museum has assembled an unparalleled collection of newspaper and magazine articles related to Abraham Lincoln. Send information from printed publications from around the world and email us with the addresses of any Lincoln related sites located on the World Wide Web.
