Join our extraordinary team of volunteers by visiting www.ppfv.org/volunteer!
Many of us are familiar with the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Wikipedia, that fount of all crowdsourced knowledge, summarizes it to mean “that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.” This proverb can also be stretched to apply to non-profits: “It takes a ‘village’ of members, volunteers, and community partners to make a non-profit’s mission succeed.”
Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley’s ‘village’ certainly succeeded in 2024! We succeeded in sharing our local history through interpretation, reenactment, immersive experiences, educational opportunities, tours, and celebrations. Our success meant engaging 18,182 people at our historic sites and public preservation meetings. Success meant our volunteers giving a cumulative 1,760 hours of their time to share why history and historic preservation are important. And it meant thousands of dollars in donations at our museums, online, and through membership contributions.
REMARKABLE VOLUNTEER EFFORTS of 2024:
-> Outstanding clean-up of Polly’s Garden behind the 1850 Beith House and revitalization of the Beith House’s front garden with native plants.
Walker Bowman (right) chatting with another volunteer as they constructed the fence around Polly’s Garden behind the 1850 Beith House in the mid-1980s. The garden, dedicated in memory of Walker’s wife Polly, a long-term volunteer with Preservation Partners, has seen a resurgence of energy in its upkeep thanks to Warren Bowman, Walker and Polly’s son.
-> Our heroes at the Fabyan Villa Museum and Fabyan Japanese Garden tough out sun, rain, and the occasional spring snow, and manage circumstances like visitors dumping ashes out of an urn in the Japanese Garden, keeping folks away from nesting alligator snapping turtles, reporting an ambulance crashing into a wayfinding sign, discovering baby fawns, and fielding a multitude of questions we never could have anticipated from our guests. Thank you for rising to the occasion every new day at the Villa & Garden. At least we can say this: it’s never boring!
-> We are so thankful for our 58 active adult and junior docent volunteers at our LeRoy Oakes Sites—Durant-Peterson House and Sholes School! They tirelessly assist with open days, scout visits, school tours, and many, many special projects. Amazing!
-> And we would be remiss in not thanking our awesome volunteer Board of Directors. The time and talent they give providing oversight, insight, and foresight to the mission of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley is just out-of-sight!
STELLAR REVIEWS OF OUR STELLAR VOLUNTEERS!
Fabyan Japanese Garden reviews
“The gentleman that worked there was very friendly and knowledgeable!” July 2024
“Beautiful place to visit! The guide at the entrance to the gardens was great. She shared interesting information about the gardens…a great way to enjoy nature and learn something new! Thank you!” May 2024
Fabyan Villa Museum reviews
“The women volunteering were EXTREMELY wonderful with my children. They helped them with the scavenger hunt, showed them around. My kids are only 11, 7, & 5 and they had such a great time here, when I really didn’t think they would. They want to come back just to “see their friends.” I love taking my kids places like this, and the experience we had here is why. People like these volunteers encourage a love of learning in children and I’m extremely grateful.” September 2024
“Had a great visit. Exceeded expectations. [S]taff and volunteers were amazing.” September 2024
“Our guide was Amazing—very knowledgeable!” August 2024
Sholes School Museum reviews
“We really appreciate the friendly volunteer who spent time with us and also demonstrated handwriting. Thank you!” January 2024
“The children’s Christmas presentation in the Sholes schoolhouse was outstanding.” December 2024
Durant-Peterson House Museum reviews
“The volunteers were extraordinary! We just loved the time we spent there. We really felt like we experienced a wintry day in the 1850s. Thank you so much.” January 2024
“This is my 3rd year taking my 3rd grade students to the Durant House and Sholes School for a field trip. The docents are knowledgeable, friendly and easy to work with. The field trip covers how communities change over time.” October 2024
To accomplish all of this for the Fox Valley community truly takes a village!
Thank you for being ours.
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