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Volunteer
More Information
Volunteer At Filoli
Join us for the Volunteer Open House on January 16, 2010.
Classes
Learn about our educational offerings.
Volunteering at Filoli provides the opportunity to experience up close one of the most beautiful estates in the Bay Area. You'll also meet dedicated people while working in an environment where your contributions are valued.
 Filoli volunteers paint a mural for the annual Holiday Traditions event.Whether your interests lie in working with the public as a House and Garden docent, assisting the horticultural staff with maintaining the Garden or providing general office support to the administrative staff, Filoli's diverse volunteer organization has an area suited just for you.
Volunteers are proud to support the mission of Filoli by supporting the organization's many events and programs.
Join Us For The Volunteer Open House
Please join us for the Filoli Volunteer Recruitment Open House 9:30 am - 11:30 am Saturday, May 22, 2010 at the Filoli Visitor and Education Center.
Volunteer Opportunities Seven Days a Week
Whether in the café or garden shop, nature education, art committee or visitor services, garden or member services, there is something for everyone.
Come meet new friends and learn about all of the wonderful opportunities to support this national treasure.
Please RSVP by email to volunteer@filoli.org or by phone to 650-364-8300, extension 300.
Why I Volunteer My Time at Filoli
 Father and Daughter Nature Education
Docents, Lowell Dravenstadt and
Jeane Makar. |
Lowell writes:
Volunteering as a Nature Education Docent at Filoli brings back warm memories of my childhood. Early in the last century, many hours were spent in the woods with my grandparents whose knowledge of all things safe to eat impressed me. We spent hours gathering mushrooms, wild berries, fruits, nuts, sassafras root, leaves for making tea and many other edibles. Leading nature hikes, especially with the school children, brings back those pleasant days.
When I enter the gates at Filoli it seems that a firewall has been erected between me and the abuses and pollutions of a twenty-first century world. Immediately I feel the warm embrace of the staff, nature education leaders, fellow docents and others, all of whom are gracious, intelligent, friendly, generous and helpful people. Among them are teachers, mentors, doctors and others with varied skills and from many callings. The opportunity to work with and make lasting friendships with these talented people is a rich reward that cannot be easily found elsewhere.
Two unexpected benefits have been observing as my daughter enthusiastically embraced the Nature Education Program. Her knowledge now exceeds mine and I learn from her. Secondly, the thank you letters received from the school children. One of them, from a precocious third-grade girl, said, “This has been absolutely the best day I’ve spent in the whole third grade.” My cup runneth over.
Jeane writes:
I have lived in San Mateo for over 30 years and have loved having such easy access to Filoli. It’s always held a special place in my heart, and even more so now that I’m a volunteer.
I became a volunteer because of my father. He instilled in me a love of nature and history. Growing up, we spent many summers camping in National Parks and visiting historical sites. His enthusiasm for God’s creation (or for the outdoors) was contagious.
So, it was no surprise when he signed up for and completed Filoli’s Nature Education training program in 2008. He couldn’t stop talking about it and strongly encouraged me to sign up for the training as well. I had recently retired and wasn’t sure about making the commitment, but again, his enthusiasm was hard to ignore.
I completed the Nature Ed training in June. I have found the experience to be so much more than I ever expected. Volunteering has given me the opportunity to get to know beautiful Filoli at a much deeper level and to meet and work with outstanding volunteers, staff, and visitors. It’s also been an ideal way for my father and me to share our passion for nature and to help others appreciate this neighborhood treasure.
Admittedly, some commitments, added to an already busy life, feel overwhelming. Not so with Filoli. It has so much to offer, and I find myself thinking about more ways I can get involved. That’s volunteering at its best.
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 Café Volunteer,
Janet Bennett. |
I enjoy volunteering at Filoli for so many reasons. The most important reason that I love volunteering is because of the really wonderful volunteers from all of the committees and the staff members that I’ve had the pleasure to work with and get to know, whether from working in the Café or on our various events. I have never met such outgoing, generous, creative, hard-working people of all age groups and with such a diverse array of backgrounds. I learn something new every time I’m there. Some volunteers only belong to one committee and others belong to several committees – whatever works best for them. Everyone is so supportive and we’ve all had so much fun together. We have such a great resource in the “pool” of talented, dedicated people that comprise our volunteers and staff members, and I am so glad to call so many of them my friends.
I also really like talking with the guests, volunteers and staff who come into the Café. I like to find out how they heard about Filoli and give them an extra-special welcome.
We volunteers are all more than happy to do everything that it takes to make sure our guests have a memorable, gracious experience at Filoli – all of the details, large and not-so-large, that need to be attended to. I think this is why so many people like to visit Filoli again and again – because it just makes them “feel good” in a way that they sometimes can’t quite explain. Hopefully, it’s a relaxing, comforting, peaceful place for them, too.
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Self-Guided Docent,
Tim Farrell. |
I love my time as a Self-Guided Docent at Filoli for a couple of very different reasons.
One is that an afternoon at Filoli, soaking up the understated Georgian elegance of the House and the magnificence of the Gardens, is such a welcome contrast to the rest of my week. I am in another, almost magical, place in time.
The other, paradoxically, is that serving as a docent—the word comes from the Latin verb "to teach," after all—allows me to do more of what I have loved doing in public education for forty-six years. With a "textbook" rich in beauty, history, and local lore, and with engaged and highly receptive "students" (and not least because every session is a learning experience for me, too), serving as a docent is simply a wonderfully rewarding teaching experience. |
Self-Guided Docent,
Barbara Anderson. |
I have always had a fascination with old homes and the people who owned them, so I registered for self-guided docent training at Filoli and soon found myself learning all about this wonderful home, Filoli, and the Bourn and Roth families. Training was over way too soon. Our table had a wonderful mentor – Alice Estrada, daughter of the chauffeur at Filoli. When we took our tours of the House and Garden, Alice always had something special to add to it, or a place to show us that wasn’t on the agenda.
My favorite thing is to open the front door for visitors and greet them with a smile and a “Welcome to Filoli.” I direct them to follow the “Self-guided” signs and ask questions as needed. Some mornings it’s very quiet with only a few guests, other times we have a constant stream of visitors. I enjoy chatting with them, telling stories about the House and furnishings and the family members. By now, I can answer most questions, but sometimes I’m stumped; then, a simple “I don’t know, but I’ll be glad to look it up,” is usually all that’s needed.
And so it goes until the guests leave and we lock the front door with the big brass key and I bid farewell to Filoli for another two weeks. |
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