Do you love the Phoenix Mountains Preserve? If so, you can be a volunteer and we would love to have you!
North Mountain Visitor Center (NMVC), which is operated by Save Our Mountains Foundation, would not be open to the public without our dedicated volunteers. We started in January 2011 with five volunteers working on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Now, the Visitor Center is manned every day of the week, 365 days a year, by devoted volunteers who love the Mountains Preserve and are willing to donate their time to serve the public.
Hikers come into the Visitor Center mostly to ask our volunteers about the trails. Many people come to browse in the Visitor Center Gift Shoppe, which is open all the hours the Center is open and also is staffed by volunteers. Everything from water to hats and rocks to books are available for sale in the Shoppe. Visitors are amazed by the wildlife photographs taken by local photographer, Joel Pearson, whose photos highlight our website pages. Most visitors learn a thing or two from the volunteers, the wealth of information in the Reading Room, and/or the interpretative displays in the Exhibit Hall.
On weekends in cooler weather months, there is a leisurely, but steady stream of visitor traffic at NMVC. Folks come from local neighborhoods, far-off suburbs, out of town, and many other countries. Sometimes they stop in before they hike and sometimes after. The experience of volunteering can be very rewarding listening to folks as they recount their experiences in the out-of-doors. Volunteers also enjoy talking to our visitors as they host the Coffee House socials on the third Saturday of each month.
NMVC Volunteers are based at the Information Desk just inside the Visitor Center’s main entrance. We assign at least two volunteers at a time; some sign up for a 3-hour shift on a weekly basis and some sign up to volunteer when available. Opportunities to volunteer for Special Events and After-hour Events are also available. We hold two mandatory meetings for our prospective new volunteers. The first meeting, the New Volunteer Informational Meeting, provides the history of the Preserve, the background of the Center and a tour of the Center. The second meeting is an after-hours meeting where the specific procedures for working at the Front Desk are presented.
Save Our Mountains Foundation would like to expand the number of hours the Visitor Center is open every day as the number of our volunteers grows. And …stay tuned as we continue expanding our program and activities that will require volunteer help.
Cheryl and Bob Toloskiewich, NMVC Volunteer Coordinators, would like to hear from anyone interested in volunteering. Please contact them to help you explore your interests with the Center.
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age.
Sign up with a pal or a family member. It will be fun! See you at NMVC soon!