Skip to content

Volunteering Returns to Hill Center!

With Covid-19 cases trending downwards and the promise of outdoor events, Hill Center is once again seeking volunteers to assist with gardening, gallery hanging, and our American Roots Concert Series!

“If you are interested in helping out in the gardens, we would be happy to have you, and can get you started any time of the year!”

-David Mackinnon
Hill Center Volunteer Garden Coordinator

Volunteering at Hill Center:

If you have ever been to a Hill Center event or maybe just passed by the building during gardening season, you know that our volunteers are essential to the care and keeping or our building and mission. Throughout the pandemic, we have had fewer opportunities for volunteers as events were cancelled and the cold made outdoor events almost impossible. With Covid-19 cases decreasing and the warm weather approaching, we are looking forward to seeing more of our volunteers once again!

The garden:

David MacKinnon: volunteer for Hill Center since 2011

On Tuesday, March 1, Rindy O’Brien wrote a lovely piece titled Volunteering A Great Way to Enjoy Gardening for the Hill Rag featuring gardens around Capitol Hill. Hill Center’s urban garden was featured in this article and O’Brien spoke with David Mackinnon, our volunteer garden coordinator who has been working with our gardens for over 10 years. O’Brien writes “the eight different garden spaces were originally planned by the world renowned, Oehme Van Sweden (OvS) landscape architecture firm” who we still consult with for large projects. David put it best when he said we are “always looking for volunteers to join…usually about six volunteers a season.” Our garden is home to many weddings, children’s classes, concerts, and more! We rely heavily on our volunteers to help us keep it in tip top shape! Plus, O’Brien notes a study by the European Centre for Environment & Human Health at the University of Exeter, which notes “that people who spent two hours a week in green spaces… were substantially more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those who don’t.”

THE GALLERIES

Our galleries are made possible by our dedicated volunteers

Also mentioned in O’Brien’s piece is Hill Center’s reinstated need for “volunteers to help with the installation of exhibitions throughout the year.” After an almost 2-year hiatus, our regularly scheduled galleries are back in-person at Hill Center! Our current exhibit, the 2022 Regional Juried Art Exhibit, runs through June 4th. When this exhibit was installed in January, we were unable to have an opening reception due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, but we are looking forward to hosting our first opening reception since the pandemic this coming Spring/Summer. In the meantime, we’re looking to re-build our volunteer team to help transition between exhibits and be on call for other art installations throughout Hill Center’s three floors.

AMERICAN ROOTS CONCERT SERIES

Session Americana playing at a past American Roots Concert

Lastly, as we creep into Spring and Summer, we are looking forward to starting our American Roots Concert Series again! For these free, mostly outdoor, concerts we seek volunteers to help us with our concessions. It’s a great way to volunteer and enjoy fantastic music at the same time!

Here are the dates!


If you are interested in any of the following volunteer opportunities, please reach out to Haviland Atha-Simonton, Programming Assistant, at haviland@hillcenterdc.org. We can’t wait to meet you!

Haviland is the Programming Coordinator at Hill Center. She has been working at Hill Center since September 2021.

Back To Top

    SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER!

    Sign up for the chance to win a $75 gift certificate for our programs, galleries, or space rentals!

    By submitting this form, you are granting: Old Naval Hospital Foundation - Hill Center, http://www.HillCenterDC.org, Washington, District of Columbia, 20003, United States, http://www.hillcenterdc.org permission to email you.

    dialog