Volunteers are crucial to the success of the Fairfield Foundation. We love to work with volunteers interested in any aspect of archaeology, architecture, history, and historic preservation. We offer many opportunities for you to help, with no prior experience necessary. In addition, we welcome any one interested in fundraising, membership drives, and general administrative tasks. To sign up for specific docent or volunteer opportunities, see links below.
The easiest first step to get involved as a volunteer is to attend one of our Lab Nights, held the first and third Tuesdays of the month from 6-9 p.m. Lab nights offer an excellent introduction to some basic archaeological methods, and volunteers can participate in a variety of these activities including washing, sorting, and identifying artifacts, labeling and mending artifacts, or helping with other small projects. All are welcome! Lab nights are held at the CAPE at the corner of Main Street and Route 14 in Gloucester Courthouse (6783 Main Street). We also have wash days at the CAPE on the first Wednesday of each month (check calendar for times), and are open for tours every Thursday from 10am-4pm.
To stay informed about other volunteer opportunities, including dig days at a variety of sites across the Middle Peninsula and surrounding areas, check out our Events Calendar, and become a fan of the Fairfield Foundation on Facebook! We have active volunteer programs at Timberneck at Machicomoco State Park, the Fairfield Archaeology Park, Walter Reed’s Birthplace, and Rosewell, we participate with educational booths and archaeological digs at many local festivals (including Daffodil Festival, Mathews Market Days, and the Urbanna Oyster Festival), and we have other opportunities working for doing maintenance work, historical research and document work, administrative tasks, and more!
Not only do we appreciate your hard work and camaraderie, your volunteer time can often be used as an “in-kind” match to many of the grants we receive from charitable organizations. Volunteers who donate 25 hours or more in a single year also earn a one year basic membership. Please email [email protected] to get started.
Sign up for a volunteer time slot!
If you already know which property or project you’re most interested in volunteering for, take a look at these volunteer signup sheets below! You are welcome to sign up for a time slot that suits you to be a docent at Walter Reed Birthplace, give tours at Timberneck, or greet guests and help with archaeology at Fairfield!
Docent at the Walter Reed Birthplace
https://volunteersignup.org/JYP78
Volunteer for Fairfield Fridays
https://volunteersignup.org/Y8J3L
Docent at Timberneck
https://volunteersignup.org/EFA3M
School Programs
https://volunteersignup.org/3B39Q
Don’t want to commit to a spot right now? If you’re interested in archaeology, historic preservation, educational outreach in the schools, office work, or property maintenance, we can use your help. Send an email to Rachel Boyd, Outreach Coordinator, who handles most volunteer activity in schools and at events. If you have questions about getting involved with Fairfield Foundation in other ways, she will funnel your contact information to the staff member who can help. Get in touch with her soon!
