Why be a Cape May MAC volunteer?
Volunteering at Cape May MAC allows you to meet new people and make a contribution in helping the Cape May region thrive. Cape May MAC is one of New Jersey’s leading cultural and heritage organizations.
Whether giving out information at our festivals, offering skills as a volunteer in our offices, or taking tickets at our Music Festival or other events, your time and talent have a huge impact in helping carry out our preservation, interpretation and cultural enrichment missions!
Volunteer Opportunities
- Marketing and Communications Volunteer Positions
- Benefit House Tour Volunteer Positions
- Curatorial Volunteer Positions
- Grounds and Maintenance Volunteer Positions
- Special Events Volunteer Positions
- Museum Education Volunteer Positions
- Hospitality Volunteer Positions
Volunteer Benefits
- 10% Discount at Cape May MAC Museum Shops
- Significant discount on Cape May MAC membership dues
- Invitation to exhibit openings and lectures
- Volunteer Recognition Reception and Awards
Those who achieve Platinum (150 hours or more) Gold (100 to 149 hours) or Silver Awards (50 hours to 99 hours) receive free admission to a variety of tours, including Crafts & Collectibles Shows and the Cape May Music Festival Concerts.
Volunteer Engagement Manager
Anne Walsh
Email: awalsh@capemaymac.org
Anne Walsh, M.A., joined Cape May MAC in Spring 2023 as Volunteer Engagement Coordinator. She is experienced in establishing relationships with organizations and individuals and organizing community engagement activities, with college students using a service-learning teaching method. Anne believes that the volunteers are the heroes behind-the-scenes of organizations. She enjoys working with people and is pleased to be a part of the Cape May MAC team. MAC stands for Museums, Art and Culture. Anne loves architecture, history, art and the culture of Cape May, just like the volunteers who get involved at MAC. She also loves music, hosting a community radio show, writing, painting and volunteering in her community. Anne welcomes all new volunteers with a willingness to “help you, help us!” and will work with individuals and organizations to arrange rich and worthwhile volunteer opportunities.
To volunteer with Cape May MAC, please fill out an application: https://app.betterimpact.com/PublicOrganization/253a7cec-4841-45bc-ae30-ed2c5a4f9095/1
Volunteers of the Month
July 2023
Camille Llewleyn
Camille Llewleyn, of Cape May and Bethlehem, Pa., is the Cape May MAC (Musuems+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for July. Llewelyn was nominated by Director of Media Relations Susan Krysiak for her help with publicizing Cape May MAC tours, activities and events. In August Camille volunteered to help with adding Cape May MAC events on up to 18 separate publication’s online calendars with the goal of broadly reaching the organization’s potential audience. Each year, Cape May MAC offers over 8,000 separately scheduled offerings to members of the public, and publicizing them all is a challenge. “Camille has been an invaluable help to the organization,” said Krysiak. “She has helped me these past nine months get the word out to the public via calendar format so that visitors far and wide can find cool things to do and plan ahead for their visit to Cape May. I nominated her because she is incredibly hard-working, skilled and enthusiastic, and for the valuable impact she has made on our total publication effort this past year. I am so grateful for her hard work, and of course, for the publications that help us let the public know about all there is to do in Cape May year ‘round.”
June 2023
Bob Hudzik
Bob Hudzik, of Cape May Court House, is the Cape May MAC (Musuems+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for June. He was nominated by Chief Outreach Strategist Mary Stewart for his help with the Carroll Gallery exhibit “Quackery: The Age of Questionable Medical Marvels,” open now through Oct. 30 at the Carriage House, on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Admission to the exhibit is free. “Bob has been helping Cape May MAC Exhibit Designer Jean Barraclough create and refresh exhibit display pieces for a few years now,” Stewart said. “For the Quackery exhibit, however, he’s outdone himself. He created a nearly full-sized replica of a 19th century medical huckster’s wagon, which gives our visitors a tangible feel for what people once might have experienced in Victorian Cape May. It’s a perfect showpiece for the exhibit. Bob has been extremely generous to Cape May MAC with his time and talents and we all are very grateful to him for this beautifully designed and executed contribution to the exhibit.”
May 2023
Teri Hislop (Xeli Otaesak Pilsit Xkw)
Teri Hislop (Xeli Otaesak Pilsit Xkw), of Villas, is the Cape May MAC (Musuems+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for May. She was nominated by Cape May MAC Museum Education Coordinator Brenda Leonard. Hislop volunteered to present a lecture on the Lenni Lenape tribe for Cape May MAC’s Lunch & Learn series of talks on interesting topics of history. Hislop was a guest speaker in November 2022. She spoke on her Leni-Lenape tribal membership, highlighting some history and sharing one of the important tribal tales, the Virtues of the Seven Grandfathers. “With only her stories and a few objects she brought to share, Teri revealed a part of local history that is often invisible to many of us,” said Leonard. “We greatly appreciate her sharing this history with us.”
April 2023
Pastor Jeff Elliott
Pastor Jeff Elliott, of Cape May, N.J., is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for April. He was nominated by Cape May MAC Director of Museum Education Brenda Leonard and Chief Outreach Strategist Mary Stewart. Pastor Jeff has been a long-time supporter of Cape May MAC in a variety of ways. Recently, he has been providing space for Cape May MAC to hold some of its public events and private meetings at Cape May Lutheran Church Hall, including Lunch and Learn lectures twice monthly, staff training events, and, shown here, Cape May MAC’s annual Staff Kickoff Potluck Dinner March 30, an annual tradition that brings staff together at the start of the season to celebrate staff milestones with a pin ceremony and potluck dinner. Cape May MAC pays a very small honorarium to the church to use the space. “We really appreciate Pastor Jeff’s generosity,” said Leonard. “Our public Lunch & Learn programs likely would not be possible as a year-round program without this affordable space.” The church provides WIFI, a sound system, projection screen, heat/AC, tables and chairs — all the physical elements necessary to gatherings like these. “Pastor Jeff has been a longtime friend to Cape May MAC, having served on our board as a volunteer and having helped advance our mission at every turn,” said Stewart. “Here again, he is quietly helping us fulfill our mission by offering us this affordable space to hold education programs for both the public and our own staff. We are tremendously grateful to him for his support and delighted to thank him publicly in this way.”
March 2023
Larry Hume
Larry Hume, of Cape May, N.J. is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for March. He is the owner of Sunset Beach Gifts and was nominated by Cape May MAC Director of Tour Operations Nanci Coughlin. Hume goes out of his way to welcome people arriving at Sunset Beach by bus on Cape May MAC group tours. He works with Cape May MAC in advance, arranging for bus parking and supplies for welcome bags for the drivers. Part of a group tour’s experience might be to attend the Sunset Beach Flag Lowering Ceremony, a Hume family tradition for over 40 years that honors veterans. “When the bus arrives, Larry checks if there are any veterans on board, so he can honor and include each of them in the flag-lowering ceremony,” Coughlin said. “He has a special way of making the tour meaningful and personal to our visitors. They come from all over the country and they leave with a special memory to last a lifetime. They feel both welcomed in Cape May, and cherished, thanks to Larry. We are honored to work with him and grateful for what he does.”
February 2023
Roger Henry
Roger Henry, of North Cape May, N.J. is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for February. He was nominated by Cape May MAC Volunteer and Member Engagement Manager Sara Kornacki. “Roger is a long-time volunteer who recently retired from single-handedly maintaining the sparkle in the trolley brass for the last five years,” Kornacki said. “Roger originally became involved with Cape May MAC as a museum instructor before lending his skills as a volunteer on the Grounds Crew team, then managing the brass maintenance on our signature fleet of trolleys. Roger showed up every week in season for five years. His hard work, genuine spirit, kindness and sense of humor have made him a joy to have, and we are very grateful for his service.”
January 2023
Carol Crossed
Carol Crossed, of Cape May, N.J. and Rochester, N.Y., is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for January. She was nominated by Cape May MAC Chief Outreach Strategist Mary Stewart. “Carol approached us to present a program for our Lunch & Learn program,” Stewart said. “She wanted to speak on the topic of a book she published in 2019, called, “Vintage Tweets: Suffrage Era Postcards.” Carol spoke about the 400 postcards in her personal collection which tell of the struggle between support and opposition in the early woman’s movement. ‘Vintage Tweets’ is a tribute to one of the most radical eras in U.S. history and was released in conjunction with the opening of the National Woman Suffrage Centennial at a book signing in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The topic is both timely and appropriate to our interpretation of the Victorian era and her kind donation of her time helped us to further our mission of interpretation and cultural enrichment.” Crossed is recipient of the 1996 Susan B Anthony Award, Peaceful Solutions in Non-violence Award, Women’s Wall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the Gaudete Medal, and the 2018 Catherine McAuley Award, given by the Sisters of Mercy. She purchased and restored the birthplace of Susan B Anthony in Adams, Mass. The home opened as a museum in 2010. To recognize this accomplishment, she was awarded the Northern Berkshire Massachusetts Business and Professional Women Award. “We are honored by her generosity and very grateful to Carol for giving her time and sharing her knowledge with the Cape May community in this way. Cape May MAC Lunch & Learn programs are a wonderful and free community asset for learning about all sorts of topics of history, thanks to people like Carol who share their time and expertise,” Stewart said.
December 2022
John Curtis
John Curtis, of Cape May Court House, N.J., is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for December. He was nominated by Chief Outreach Officer Mary Stewart and Museum Educator Brenda Leonard, for a presentation he made on impressionist art for one of Cape May MAC’s Lunch & Learn events in July. “John generously agreed to fill in at the last minute when our scheduled speaker had to pull out due to COVID-19 concerns,” Stewart said. “John chose as his topic, ‘Impressionist Art: How Do You Paint Light,’ which he based on his experience as a professor of fire arts and director of choral activities at Misericordia University.” In a one-hour presentation, Curtis illustrated the changes in the theory of the use of light and shadow in modeling the human form, as well as the evolution of accepted content for paintings. “In just a few slides, John gave a lively, often humorous, and thorough history of the origin of impressionism, which generated a lively discussion with his audience,” Leonard said. “We are very grateful to him for sharing his knowledge and for stepping up and helping us fulfill our educational mission in this way.”
November 2022
Lauren & Marc Shenfield
Lauren and Marc Shenfield, of Cape May, N.J. and Croton on Hudson, N.Y., are the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteers of the Month for November. They were nominated by Director of Visitor Services & Special Events Janice Corkery, for their long-standing support of the organization over several decades, and for graciously opening their Cape May home, the Aurorean Cottage, for house tours over the past year. “I spoke to Marc and Lauren at Cape May MAC’s 50th Anniversary celebration in September 2021,” said Corkery. “They have been supporters of the organization for many years. When I mentioned to them that I still needed properties to be on tour for our Taste of Cape May Kitchen Tour in October 2021, they immediately agreed to put their home on tour. The tour was less than three weeks away — and they didn’t even hesitate!”
September 2022
Sue Currie
Sue Currie is the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteer of the Month for September. Sue was nominated for the honor by Cape May MAC’s Director of Visitor Services & Special Events, Janice Corkery, for her dedication to assisting the Brunch & Bingo Events in 2022. “She is a retired educator from the Bronx, and definitely uses that experience to her advantage when she calls out the Bingo numbers. She gets the audience involved and enhances their experience. They love her!” said Corkery. “My most vivid memory of Sue’s volunteering for Brunch & Bingo was this past winter. She was supposed to be at an event and had an emergency and couldn’t attend. Not only did she alert the Cape May MAC volunteer coordinator, she also found her own replacement to make sure her position was covered not leaving us stranded.”
August 2022
Staff from the Madison Resorts Group
Staff from the Madison Resorts Group, of Cape May, N.J., are the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteers of the Month for August. The team was nominated for the honor by Cape May MAC Chief Operations Officer Melissa Payne, for their hard work on Earth Day, planting flowers in a variety of gardens at the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate. Dan Alicea, Brian Jones, Alycia Raroha, Olivia Suarez, Jimmy Maugeri, Dustin Seraile, Stacy McNeil, Kim Constantine, Kait Giovinazzo and Chester Santana comprised the volunteer team from Madison Resorts. Since 1970, Cape May MAC has been the careful steward of the Physick Estate, Cape May’s Victorian House Museum, and every year, celebrates Earth Day with a gardening project. “The work for Cape May MAC staff would have taken several days,” said Payne. “This extraordinary team of volunteers pulled together and planted the gardens in just a few hours.
July 2022
Susan Rotholz, Jed Gaylin and Eliot Bailen
Susan Rotholz, Jed Gaylin and Eliot Bailen are the Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) Volunteers of the Month for July. Cape May MAC Chief Outreach Strategist Mary Stewart nominated them for their generosity donating their time to an afternoon fundraiser, “Musical Intermezzo,” benefitting the Friends of the Cape May Music Festival, on Friday, June 10. The fundraiser featured a classical chamber music mini concert at Vintage Restaurant on the grounds of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate. Bailen, cellist and artistic director of the New York Chamber Ensemble, and his wife Rotholz, flutist with the New York Chamber Ensemble, have performed with the festival since its inception. Gaylin is music director of the Bay Atlantic Symphony, a long-standing performer in the festival.