Sitka depends on the generosity of our volunteers. Help with hospitality for our open houses and other events, assistance with mailings, ongoing small maintenance projects, and more are all much valued. Sitka Art Invitational (annually in November) requires the help of over 100 volunteers over the course of four days.
We have a number of volunteer needs including:Grant Writer: The Sitka Center has several initiatives underway that could use an experienced hand at writing, crafting, and seeking out grants. This person would work closely with the executive director to identify appropriate grant opportunities, research and write the grants, and follow through on any additional grant requirements.
Sitka Book author: Sitka has a rich and storied history dating back to 1970. Over the years we have collected a number of documents and photos to track this history. This volunteer would work with our volunteer historian to start creating a book documenting Sitka's first 40 years.
Represent Sitka at local festivals: Wordstock, the Coastal Carvers Woodcarving show, Birding and Blues Festival, Plein Air Arts Festival, Cascade Head Music Festival, and Lincoln City Earthday. As a staff of 3 we can't possibly go to all of them. We need someone who is willing to go to some of these great festivals and represent Sitka at a booth, promoting workshops and our residency program. This person needs to have a great public persona and be willing to work on weekends. You'll also need to spend some time with us to get up to speed on our programs so you can speak with authority and get people excited about Sitka.
PR/Publicity: If you have skills and experience getting impactful, but low-cost publicity for an organization, we need your help. The Sitka Center is well known among certain cirlces, but many long time residents of Lincoln City have never heard of the Sitka Center. We want to help people in the Northwest become aware of the great things Sitka does for the community, for artists, and for nature. Sitka does have a small budget for publicity, but we need a creative individual to look for the opportunities that stretch that budget as far as possible.
Quest Trail maintenance: This is a volunteer position with a small time commitment - quarterly hike along a trail near Sitka. The Quest Trail is part of a larger network of trails that creates a game for hikers to play while hiking some of the most beautiful parts of the Northwest. Sitka is responsible for quarterly monitoring of the cache used in the game and reporting on its status.
Studio Duster: If you like to make the world neater and tidier, then this position may tickle your fancy. Our studios collect dust and stuff. From time to time we find ourselves needing to give them a thorough cleaning. Your job would be to organize work parties to give each studio a deep cleaning so that it is fresh and ready for our next season of residents and workshops.
Landscaper: Sitka has a professional landscaping service, but in between visits, weeds seem to sprout up like, well, weeds. We also have a few flower boxes that need tending. If "green thumb" is your middle name, consider lending a few hours to tidy the Sitka landscape.
Framer: Sitka was bequested a bounty of large format photographs from professional photographer Ned Westover. Over 100 of these photos need to be framed. We have some of the framing materials and would welcome a donation of additional materials so that more of these photos can be used in exhibitions, classes, and in some cases sold to raise money for the Sitka Center. Working with this collection of outstanding photos from international locations is like taking a trip around the world. A related volunteer position would be to take the typed inventory of these photos and enter them into our database.
Web programmer for Virtual Gallery: The Sitka Center has decided to display and sell some of its collection in a virtual gallery to be placed online. This volunteer needs to have strong web programming experience. The project will help Sitka raise money and will get some terrific art out of storage and onto people's walls where it can be fully appreciated.
Resident Host: From October to May we host up to 15 artists and musicians to live and work on site as residents and dig deeply into their work. We are looking for people who live near the Sitka Center to serve as hosts, welcoming them with a dinner, being available in case of emergency, and generally making them feel welcome in the community. Past resident hosts have taken residents on hikes and even helped them learn how to hunt for mussels.
Events Volunteers: Sitka hosts an open house as the culmination of every residency period. We also offer public lectures, film screenings and presentations throughout the year. We are looking for volunteers to help with preparations such as food, setting up the chairs, and setting up audio video equipment. Occasionally we also need people to help guide traffic to appropriate parking locations during the event.
City Council and School Board Meeting Attendant: Sitka needs someone who is willing to represent us in the local community, attending city council and school board meetings to identify issues of interest to Sitka. If you are civically minded already, this might be a great fit.
Catalog Distribution: Does your community have enough Sitka Catalogs? We distribute to many drop-sites throughout Oregon but could use your help adding great new places to our list. You could help by dropping off stacks of catalogs in your area in the spring, or identifying and contracting willing drop sites and then giving us the information. We also appreciate referrals to add people to our mailing list.
Alumni Event Organizer: Over 170 artists and ecologists have spent time at Sitka, and at least as many instructors have taught here during our 38-year history. We are in the early stages of organizing an alumni gathering for our residents and instructors that would bring them all together to interact, connect, and swap stories. This project will likely involve collaboration with the Westwind Stewardship group across the Salmon River.
Bench Builder: A Sitka donor has donated money for materials to build a special pondering bench for the Sculpture Garden. We need a talented woodworker to design and build it.
Office Help: We often have big mailings that are timed with end of the year donations and early workshop registration. It would be great to find someone who can be on call to pitch in and help out in the office when things get busy.
Other ways to Contribute: Donations for special events - if you own a winery, we would love to put your wine in front of our visitors. Food and services donations are also welcome and you gain exposure for your business.
To volunteer for the Art Invitational or other volunteer positions, please contact the Office Manager at info@sitkacenter.org or 541-994-5485.