Many Hands Make Light Work
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A Guide to Volunteering at Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s Botanical Garden
Many Hands Make Light Work
Volunteering is both a rich and fulfilling way to offer gifts of time and talent. As a non-profit public garden, Powell Gardens relies not only on generous monetary donations but also time and talent donations.
Volunteers are crucial to Powell Gardens’ continued operations. From caring for the land to caring for guests, volunteering with Kansas City’s botanical garden provides a variety of opportunities for impactful giving.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Powell Gardens’ volunteer program.
Types of Volunteer Opportunities
Depending on your interests, there are plenty of ways to contribute to Powell Gardens.
Individual Volunteering
Garden Volunteers
Garden volunteers work closely with the horticulture department, contributing to vital gardening tasks such as weeding, planting, soil preparation, and overall garden maintenance.
K-12 Garden Guides
K-12 Garden Guides and K-12 Assistant Garden Guides play an essential role in Powell Gardens’ education department, inspiring young minds through engaging school and summer programming. Not only will Garden Guides assist with hands-on and nature-based learning, they’ll also participate in monthly one-hour professional development sessions via Zoom.
Garden Guides should be comfortable walking up to 1.5 miles during each field trip, which occur on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings.
Administration Volunteers
Administration volunteers can expect tasks involving guest services, wedding events, membership, community donations, data entry, and more. Volunteers typically work alongside a small group of staff or other volunteers.
Corporate Volunteering
Looking for an all-staff outing that gives back to the community, promotes sustainability, and contributes to overall employee health? Volunteering at Powell Gardens is the perfect option for you and your company! With a variety of experiences, Kansas City’s botanical garden will customize an outing tailored to your interests.
Group Volunteering
If you’re looking for a meaningful outing with clubs, schools or religious groups, membership organizations, family, or friends, Powell Gardens has plenty of opportunities. Each group will enjoy a customized outing tailored to their interests such as weeding, planting, nature trail upkeep, regenerative agriculture, maintenance, or administrative tasks.
Dollars for Doers
Dollars for Doers are volunteer grant programs funded by employers to recognize the efforts of their employees (and even retirees). Many companies will make monetary donations to eligible non-profits, like Powell Gardens, based on volunteer hours. Check with your employer to see if they offer a volunteer grant program!
Why is volunteering at Powell Gardens important?
For a small, non-profit organization like Powell Gardens, volunteers make a world of difference not only in our day-to-day operations but also to our mission. The latter can often feel abstract, but at Kansas City’s botanical garden, our mission is lived in tangible ways through conservation initiatives, land stewardship, and education.
As visitors or residents to the region, we all share a connection to the prairie ecosystem—an ecosystem that is home to over 800 plant species and the most diverse community of soil microorganisms across all land ecosystems. This is the landscape Powell Gardens, Kansas City’s botanical garden, is created from and strives to honor and protect.
“Volunteering at Powell Gardens with Moonshot is more than just giving our time; it’s about nurturing our community, fostering growth in our partnership with Moonshot, and creating a lasting impact on the environment,” said Hovey Williams Director of Operations Dana Tafreshi. “Together with Moonshot Solutions, we are cultivating beauty in the world around us and a lasting culture of collaboration between our organizations.”
As a volunteer, you have the opportunity to connect with our mission on a deeper level and contribute tangible, positive results. Your hands can make an impact!
Volunteer Benefits
Individual Volunteer Benefits
Individual volunteer benefits recognize and celebrate the contributions of our hardworking volunteers. As volunteers dedicate more of their time, they can unlock even greater benefits.
- Day 1 of Service: Receive volunteer badge.
- 20 Hours of Service: Receive a volunteer membership, good for two adults’ admission.
- 40 Hours of Service: Receive a volunteer t-shirt.
- 50 Hours of Service: Receive 10 Admit One passes to share with friends and family.
- After 1 Year of Service: Earn a personalized name tag with your total hours of service listed and invitation to Volunteer Appreciation Meal.
Corporate Volunteer Benefits
What better way to serve both your community and a local non-profit than with Powell Gardens? Outings are an excellent way to bring teams together and contribute to land stewardship.
- Improve staff well-being with stress reduction by spending time in the natural world.
- Contribute to our sustainability initiatives by participating in conservation projects, education, and more.
- Increase team building and morale with enhanced collaboration and camaraderie opportunities.
- Connect our brand with yours for strengthened corporate social responsibility portfolio.
CLICK TO BECOME A VOLUNTEE
What impact will I make when I volunteer?
When you volunteer at Powell Gardens, it’s more than just a sense of accomplishment and volunteer perks. Whether weeding, planting, greeting guests, or educating future generations, your volunteer shift allows you to see the direct impact you can make on Powell Gardens and the community we serve.
Every volunteer hour logged is a powerful contribution that benefits a local non-profit and you. Volunteering is a great way to share your skills or learn something new while building meaningful relationships with Kansas City’s botanical garden, our mission, and our community.
Whether you have questions about volunteering or you’re ready to jump in, get in touch with a Powell Gardens team member today.
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