Moonlighting: White Gloves Gang

Check out JMM collections manager Jobi Zink's guest post at the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museum's blog!

"As the conference wound down on Wednesday, the White Gloves Gang was gearing up for their big day. Comprised of registrars, collections managers, museum studies students, and art shippers, the White Gloves Gang gets its name from the distinguished (okay, distinguishing!) cotton garment routinely worn when handling art and artifacts..."

Why We Volunteer

Ilene Cohen is our Volunteer Coordinator.

People volunteer for many reasons. As the Volunteer Coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland it is my job to understand why, and to keep them motivated to do so.

In response to this question on our volunteer application, some of the most popular replies are “to give back to the Jewish community,” “to interact with others and develop friendships,” and “to make a difference.”

Some of the volunteers who truly make a difference, in the lives of our visitors, are our

docents. The docents are those who act as guides in our two historic synagogues and exhibit galleries.

Sometimes when leading an “Introduction to Judaism” tour to public school youngsters they might initially field questions like, “do all Jews have blue eyes?” By the end each tour they have built such a rapport with the students and are sorry to see them leave.

A number of groups send letters following their tours and I’d like to share some that we have received.

A youth fellowship group visiting from Israel noted: Our visit to the Jewish Museum of Maryland was very interesting, and the tour was a great way to start off our trip…the history of the Jewish community in Baltimore is instrumental in understanding the history of the Jewish community of the United States.

A third grader at the Talmudical Academy wrote: I appreciate your being such a good guide on our trip. He listed all of the things he liked that he saw, and finished with… I liked the part when you knew my father!

Another young visitor explained: My favorite part was when I got to learn about the Jewish hat (yarmulke), and the Bible (Torah scrolls), and the church (synagogue)…

Some include pictures on their notes, one such also said: …thank you for giving us an educational tour of the synagogue…I noticed that the Torah is very important to you…

Our very favorites are the ones that include: p.s. I can’t wait to come back!

Volunteerings at the JMM!

Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Sun.

A blog post by Ilene Cohen, volunteer coordinator.

As the volunteer coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland I am constantly recruiting. The classic stereotype of a volunteer is someone who has lots of time to spare and is looking for something to do. While this describes good portion of our volunteers, we take pride in providing an environment in which people of all ages and stations in life can make friends, meet others who share their interests, learn new skills, and share their skills with others.

Our current volunteer opportunities include:

Front Desk Reception
The front desk reception volunteers provide an invaluable service to the Museum by maintaining a warm and welcome atmosphere for Museum guests. They serve as the Museum’s customer service representatives while orienting visitors to the Museum complex. They provide information about all services that the Museum offers. Some tasks include processing admission fees for groups and individuals, answering the telephone, and maintaining an accurate daily count of visitors.


Museum Docents
Museum docents possess an interest in history and enjoy sharing their knowledge with others. They perform an essential duty by leading tours and by interpreting the history of the Museum’s two historic synagogues and exhibitions for adults, families, and school groups of all ages. A series of training sessions is offered to those interested in joining our docent corps.

Museum Gift Shop

Gift shop volunteers assist guests with purchases, process cash and credit card payments, arrange merchandise on shelves and in windows, and assist the shop manager with ordering merchandise and conducting store inventory.




Special Events
Throughout the year, the Museum holds many programs and special events including exhibition openings, family holiday programs, lectures, film series, and theatrical and musical performances. Special event volunteers provide much needed assistance with these events by greeting visitors, processing admission fees, maintaining an accurate count of visitors, helping with refreshments, selling memberships, and facilitating art projects.

Archives
Volunteering in the Library and Archives offers a variety of learning experiences. The majority of the work takes place in a library setting, but a few projects may be completed at home. Positions range from office-type work, to collections processing, to digital imaging. Typing and computer skills are preferred, but not always required. A number of the projects may be conducive to working with a partner. This volunteer opportunity provides a chance to learn more about Maryland’s Jewish history. All new volunteers will be given an orientation to the care and handling of archival objects.

Collections
Volunteers in the collections department work on a variety of projects. These include creating artifact inventories for special projects, organizing collection records, sorting incoming artifacts, helping to store and pack artifacts, and preparing objects in the collection for exhibition. Temporary assignments are available. Experience in the handling of fragile items is desired.





Photo Collections
Working with the museum photographic collections can include numbering and re-housing photographs as well as typing photo descriptions and scanning photographs. Volunteers will be trained on the proper handling of photographs as well as the correct procedures for updating catalogue records and digitizing images for preservation. Projects tend to be ongoing and can support a variety of time commitments – a few hours every week to sporadic all-day visits, working with the photograph collection is a very flexible volunteer position. Willingness to use a computer and learn basic digital imaging skills is a must.

Our volunteers are given the opportunity to help the community, increase their self-esteem, make new friends, try out a job, polish their resumes, develop new skills and enjoy something they love. Please contact us (icohen@jewishmuseummd.org) if you would like to join in!

Secret Lives of Interns: First Field Trip!

A blog by Rachael Gilman

This past Friday we interns had our first field trip of the summer to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is a place that shares the local history of a specific group of people, much like the JMM. We viewed their exhibit “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges.”

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

This exhibit explores a lesser known part of both African American and Jewish history. I certainly had never heard of Jewish professors fleeing the Nazi’s teaching at historically black colleges before. People hear about the really famous scholars, like Einstein, but not people like Ernst Borinski or Viktor Lowenfeld. These Jewish professors gave new opportunities for learning to their black students. For instance, Lowenfeld started teaching art classes and helped found the art department at Hampton Institute. Many Jewish professors opened up their homes to students to share European music and food.

Professor Borinski teaching in the Social Sciences Lab at Tougaloo College

I was struck by what these Jewish professors were able to offer black colleges in exchange for providing them refuge. Renowned white scholars were teaching at black colleges. They gave new perspectives and ideas to their students. Some of their students went on to do great things, like Dr. Joyce Ladner, a student of Borinski’s, who became the first female president (interim) of Howard University. The blacks proved that they were just as capable as whites, thanks in part to the teaching of their Jewish refugee professors. The exhibit made me tear up a little bit.

Dr. Ladner viewing the exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Most of the interns also visited part of the Reginald F. Lewis’s main exhibition upstairs. I did not go see it because I became distracted by the reading area in the middle of “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow.” The table had a variety of books about African American and Jewish history in Maryland (including two of the JMM’s publications), the Holocaust, relations between African Americans and Jews, and copies of primary source materials that supplemented the exhibit.

Our field trip was merged with the Volunteer Appreciation Brunch so we ate some free food and met some of the JMM’s awesome volunteers. The speeches made at the brunch by Ilene C., Anita, Jobi, Deborah, Jenn, Esther and Laura (a former JMM staff member) were thoughtful and (I hope) made the volunteers feel appreciated.

JMM staff and volunteers at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon

Everyone received a JMM tote bag as a token of appreciation and there was also a raffle with prizes. Some of the interns won raffle prizes too. I won two tickets to the American Visionary Art Museum that I can’t wait to use. After brunch, our field trip came to an end and we got back to work at the JMM. I think I speak for all the interns when I say that we are looking forward to our next field trip!

Happy Birthday, Once Upon A Time!

Our Once Upon a Time feature turns three this week! Thank you to all of our wonderful members and Jewish Times subscribers for calling in week after week with the identifications of the people in the photographs.

And to answer the question that I am most frequently asked, YES! People do call in every week to identify the photos. In fact two-thirds of all of the photos have been at least partially identified through this JMM/Jewish Times collaboration.

The "answers" to the identifications are posted right here on the JMM blog and website. (Sometimes it does take a week or two to update.) The information is also added to our database to assist researchers in the future.


Interested in seeing more? Enter your search term (name, shul, club) into our on-line database and see what comes up. Or, make an appointment to come to the museum and view the photographs in person. Want to help identify photos on a regular basis? We need volunteers to help describe the photos in our collection. Contact Ilene Cohen, JMM Volunteer Coordinator, icohen@jewishmuseummd.org or 410-732-6400 ext. 217

What Does A Typical Week Look Like for JMM Education?

These are just photographs of three of several programs offered during the course of seven days in April at the JMM...

On Wednesday, April 22nd, the JMM welcomed upper middle school students from Sacred Heart, a Catholic school in Mount Washington to tour the Museum. After their tour, students listened to Holocaust survivor, George Rabinek, share his life experiences. That afternoon, a group of museum studies students from Johns Hopkins received a special treat: a behind-the-scenes tour! Only offered to small, older groups, the students were able to see the downstairs collection area in a tour led by Senior Collections Manager, Jobi Zink.


On Thursday, the JMM hosted teachers from Howard County Public Schools for the professional development workshop, Echoes & Reflections, led by Danielle Goldberg from the Anti-Defamation League. The JMM has hosted this workshop for teachers from several jurisdictions and is happy to include more.


At the same time, JMM volunteers were out doing some professional development of their own, touring the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Museum. Additionally, JMM education staff led a program for 7th graders from Federal Hill Prep, a Baltimore City Public School.

On Friday, a group of students from Lakeland Elementary, a Baltimore City Public School, toured the Museum. That Sunday brought several groups, including the penultimate session with Kol Ha Lev, a religious school who was showcased in last month's educator e-newsletter. On Monday, one of the education staff led an outreach program at Beit R-J, Baltimore's joint religious evening school for high school students belonging to several Reform affiliated synagogues.

Tuesday brought a large group of students from Potomac High School, a public school from Prince George's County. The students not only toured the Museum and exhibits but also participated in an Archival Exploration in our library on the topic of immigration.

On Wednesday, April 29th, the JMM welcomed students back from Oakland Mills High School, a public school in Howard County. Oakland Mills had brought a different set of students last October. That afternoon, an adult group from Holy Communion Lutheran Church participated in our tour program.

Just another typical week for the education staff at the JMM!