Volunteer
We have many opportunities for interested volunteers. If you are interested in any of the items summarized below, or if you have other skills that you would like to contribute, please contact us by phone or email.
Volunteers at Work
Opportunity
Description
Oral history editing
We have several oral histories that were recorded several years ago on cassette tapes. The tapes need to be digitized, edited and transcribed.
Collect additional oral histories
Identifying subjects and collecting additional oral or video histories is needed.
Virtual tours of MPH
Some of our volunteers provide tours of the Martin-Perry House to groups and other visitors. It would be beneficial to develop slide shows, PowerPoint presentations, or possibly video tours that could be used at schools, senior centers, and nursing care centers for groups that cannot visit the house.
Expand the Powell history timeline
We have an informative timeline of the history of Powell but there are no recent events and there is, with a little research, potential to fill in gaps.
Presentations about key points in Powell history
The opportunity exists to develop presentations that address and more fully describe some of the key elements of the timeline.
Digitizing cemetery documentation
We have a significant collection of records and photographs of the cemeteries in Liberty Township. These needed to be scanned for preservation and to make them more widely available.
Graphic design
Volunteers with graphic design skills are needed for the website, brochures and posters, and various presentations.
Cataloging photographs
We have a very large collection of digital photographs of the objects in our collection. These photographs need to be categorized and described to make them more useful to the public. We also have a large collection of photographic prints that are being scanned. These also need to be categorized and described. A web-based tool exists to accomplish this task.
Scanning photographs
We have a significant number of photographs of historical interest in our files. These need to be scanned to digital format for preservation and to increase availability.
Scanning documents
Our collection includes many old newspaper articles and other documents that need to be scanned to preserve the content. The paper degrades over time and without digital conversion, these documents will become unusable. Scanning these documents is an opportunity for an interested volunteer.
Assisting with genealogical records
An index of the surnames and family members of Powell and Liberty township has been created and are included on this website. There is an opportunity for individuals with knowledge of local history and relationships to help identify the links between families and to help expand the index. A web-based tool exists to help with this task.
Programs
Help with planning programs, identifying speakers, and coordinating program delivery is always needed.
Martin-Perry House maintenance
The Martin-Perry house is an old structure and there are always maintenance and repair tasks in need of attention.
Lawn mowing, snow shoveling
Volunteers to mow the lawn in the summer and shovel the sidewalks in the winter are welcome. With sufficient volunteers to cover these tasks, we could save the cost of contracting the work,