Volunteer
Atwood wants YOU!
Riverview, as a small non-profit organization, operates with few paid staff and many dedicated volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, please call us at (270) 843-5565.
Who can become a Riverview Volunteer?
Anyone with an interest in historic houses, the Civil War, or Victorian period, who wants to learn more about 19th century lifestyle and customs, and who is willing to make a meaningful contribution to Riverview's mission.
What are the benefits of being a Riverview Volunteer?
- Satisfaction in acquainting visitors with Bowling Green's only historic house museum.
- Community Service and enrichment
- Contributing to the preservation of a significant historic structure and a major collection of historical artifacts
- Connection to Central Kentucky's unique heritage in the Civil War
- Developing communication and leadership skills
- Social gatherings, occasional workshops and field trips
- Meeting new people with similar interests
- Discount in our museum shop
What volunteer opportunities are available?
A Docent or tour guide gives tours through the museum after time spent with a current docent and our tour manual in order to learn the tour.
A Museum Gift Shopkeeper answers the telephone, greets and thanks visitors, monitors the cash register during a three-hour shift (mornings 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. or afternoons 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.), rings up sales for museum shop purchases.
Special Events Volunteers help in many ways with the Special Events that we feature 3-4 times yearly for the public. Some volunteers offer special skills as a lecturer, a reenactor, a language translator, or a storyteller. Most Special Events volunteers, however, give their time and labor to help set up, run, and clean up after a Special Event. They may contact businesses for underwriting funds, assist with marketing the event, act as host or hostess to our visitors, direct parking, sell tickets, serve food or drinks, answer questions, conduct tours, or assist the Shopkeeper in the Museum Shop.
Gardens & Grounds Volunteers help care for the perennial and rose gardens at Riverview—planting annuals and adding perennials, spreading mulch, deadheading, weeding, watering, planning new Victorian beds, etc., on their own schedule and available time. We occasionally will have a workday in the spring or fall or prior to a special event, when we want the grounds to look especially nice.
The Friends Board is the fundraising arm of the museum. The Board makes nominations each fall to fill the five places that are vacated as former Friends end their 4 year terms of service. The Friends meet on the 1st Tuesday of each month at noon at Riverview. They are responsible for the fundraiser, the membership drive, volunteer appreciation, and help with Special Events. If interested, please contact any Friends Board member.
The Timeless Manners Committee conducts four-week Timeless Manners class for third and fourth grade children on Sunday afternoons in mid-January through February each winter. They teach table and telephone manners, making introductions, and writing thank you notes among other things.
If you would like to volunteer, please call us at (270) 843-5565!