Do you have an interest in volunteering? Are you a local history buff, interested in helping out with events, or working with archival or object collections, or love to garden? Consider volunteering with the Historical Society and go back in time while contributing time!
The Centre County Historical Society (CCHS) is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on the generous gifts of time and talents by volunteers. There are many opportunities to get involved in CCHS and fulfill your individual interests.
Below are brief descriptions of areas that may interest you. To view or hide more information about volunteer opportunities, please click on the plus/minus (+/-) signs below. If interested, please complete and submit a volunteer application to Mary Sorensen at msorensen@centrefurnace.org:
We always need extra hands on and around our Plant Celebration held in May. If you are interested, visit the Plant Celebration page!
The Stocking Stuffer Magical Holiday Market, held in December, is the Historical Society’s largest fundraiser and is another event that requires many hands before, during, and after the event. Visit the Stocking Stuffer page for more information.
We welcome individuals as well as service groups. To schedule your service group, please contact Mary Sorensen at the number below.
For more information about volunteering call or email Mary Sorensen at 814-234-4779 or msorensen@centrefurnace.org.
Archival & Administrative Work
Periodically, we have volunteer openings for data entry, image scanning, collection care, research requests, and library management are some of the on-going projects relating to our archives and collections.
Docent & Greeting
Greeters welcome our visitors and oversee the Museum Store at the Centre Furnace Mansion. Docents provide visitors an overview of iron industry history, and take visitors on a guided tour of three floors of the historic house museum. Regular tour hours are Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., and by appointment for school and special group tours. On average, docents work 2 afternoons each month. Docent workshops, educational materials, and docent-shadowing are provided to prepare docents for leading tours.
Docent opportunities are also available at the Boogersburg School. This one-room schoolhouse is open by appointment for school tours, group tours, and special events. Most school tours occur in the spring months between March and May.
Program Planning
CCHS offers a series of on-going history talk programs and educational activities. There is always a need for fresh ideas for historical program subjects, guest speakers, or demonstrations. The Historical Society schedules regular programs, varying in topic or tied to a single theme, and at times include programs at off-site locations. Sometimes programs are offered in conjunction with a current exhibit at the Centre Furnace Mansion or coincide with research.
Handy Skills
With two historic properties, the Centre Furnace Mansion and Boogersburg School, handy skills for tasks like carpentry, painting, and minor repairs, are ongoing. Project volunteers are on an as needed basis year-round.
Gardening
The Mansion’s gardens and grounds require gardening activities essential to keeping this the Mansion and Boogersburg School beautiful for visitors. Thanks to the Centre Furnace Mansion Garden Committee and a cadre of community and student service groups, there are many ongoing garden-related projects, as well as regularly scheduled gardening times (typically Thursday mornings or afternoons).
Internships
Internships at the Centre County Historical Society provide students with a hands-on experience in various fields associated with non-profit management, museum programming, and preservation. Specific experience can be gained in history and preservation, architecture, electronic and social media marketing, archival record-keeping, collections care and management, museum education, and a number of design fields (exhibit, graphic, interior, landscape, museum).
Special Events
Many volunteers are necessary to host various events and that include preparation, on-site work during the event, registration, directing parking. Several special events are held each year. The Stocking Stuffer Magical Holiday Market is the Society’s largest annual fundraiser event (generally the first weekend in December). The Plant Celebration garden sale is our second largest fundraiser ( in May). Other events include the Open House at Boogersburg School (in early fall), and the Historic Preservation Awards (in January). Penn State Family Weekend tours require several docents to lead multiple concurrent tours throughout the weekend – it is a great way to learn about being a docent.
