Building a Volunteer Community
The Friends of the Nature Center (formerly named The Guild) has been going strong for 50 years, because of the good they do and the community they create.
“The key word is community, because we have a terrific community of people who work hard and volunteer,” said Kathy Severson, President of the Friends of the Nature Center.
By hosting two fundraising events (Nature’s Noel and the Spring Plant & Art Sale) each year, their volunteer work raises tens of thousands of dollars annually to support Indian Creek Nature Center’s educational programs and land restoration projects.
It’s impossible to truly measure the far-reaching and powerful impact the group has had on the Nature Center over the decades. But it’s not only their impact that keeps the group’s members coming back year after year.
Kathy knows that “what keeps us all coming back each year is each other.”
A Friends Group Built by Friends
“My best friend said, ‘This year, I’m going to train you to be a cashier.’ Did that. Had a nice time doing that,” Kathy said about how she started with the group. “And then somebody wanted me to fill in and help with soup. So I helped with soup. Now, it’s been 12 years.”
“I got roped into it by a friend as well,” said Mary Christensen, “The Nature Center has always been a special place to me. So, when my girlfriend, who was in charge of Nature’s Noel, asked me to come help with frozen foods, I said okay.”
Jane Schildroth, who bestowed upon herself the title of Empress of Soup, shared a similar origin story, saying, “I got involved with the Plant Sale. Just arranging plants and digging. Berta Ringold is the one who roped me in. Then pretty soon I was helping to make soup for Nature’s Noel.”
While many members were “roped in” by friends, the welcoming community helps build friendships within the group as well.
Even during the busy week leading into Nature’s Noel, when members are handcrafting hundreds of holiday centerpieces from fresh evergreens, the air is still filled with joy because of the collaborative and supportive environment.
“This week before Nature’s Noel is just magical,” Kathy said with a smile, “You smell the evergreen when you walk into the barn, and there are all these people and all this stuff we’ve collected, or that’s been donated. And all these people just working, and making beautiful things. It’s really neat.”
“It goes from a pile of stuff on a table to things people buy and take home to put on their table. It’s just inspirational,” shared Jane, “I don’t consider myself creative, but it is really fun working on a hanging basket or centerpiece, because we don’t do it in isolation.”
The Future of the Friends Group
The group is always finding ways to evolve to meet challenges, improve their events, and welcome new volunteers. Their favorite story of this evolution is how they improved their methods for preparing the frozen soups sold at Nature’s Noel.
Mary shared that “It started out with individuals doing soups in their homes, but soon we decided we needed to do it together.” This ensured a higher quality of soup but left the challenge of lifting and moving heavy soup pots, and they kept needing to find a new kitchen.
“We were doing soups in various places, but then we started thinking about how to make it sustainable. Then we came up with the idea of vendors giving us the soup,” said Jane, who began getting local restaurants to donate the soup.
Now, in the group’s 50th year, the Friends are still thinking about what it will take to keep the group going for another 50 years. There have been discussions of hosting wreath-making classes, and finding more sustainable ways to run the events, and, critically, preserving the Barn facilities.
Mary makes clear that “the barn is so vital to what we do today. When I started we were working in big canvas tents out in the yard by the barn with fires to keep us warm. Working outside where your fingers were freezing and you were trying to twist wire to hold pine cones on your centerpiece. We were so grateful when we finally had space inside. I don’t know exactly what the future holds for the barn, but I sure hope it continues to be a workplace for the Friends group.”
As pivotal as the Barn space is for the group, every member knows the heart of the group is the people.
Kathy wants everyone to know how easy it is to start volunteering with the Friends, saying, “There is no secret handshake or anything. It does not cost to be a member of the friends group.”
“We have to keep finding those folks that will step up and have the energy to keep it going,” said Jane. “I’ll need someone to take over my place as Empress of Soup.”
Who knows, maybe the next sovereign of soup, regent of wreaths, or monarch of magnolias will be you.