There are folks who are the polar opposite from me in this, but for me, the “Spring Forward” clock shift is my favorite time of year with longer days and childhood permissions when my curfew was when the streetlights came on, to go back out and play after dinner. This “Fall Back” resetting of the clocks couldn’t be more miserable. It has been a heavy-on-my-heart day for as long as I can remember. Darker earlier, playtime cut short–nothing good about that, and the one extra hour of sleep is poor compensation.
However, to mark the shift in our clocks, here are a couple of clock-themed volunteer opportunities I found:
The National Watch and Clock Museum, “America’s Largest Timekeeping Museum” in Columbia, Pennsylvania, depends on the kindness of volunteers to bolster projects in their library and archives, collections management, education, exhibits, and publications.
Northern Virginia Family Service, in runs charitable thrift shops called Clock Tower Shops in Centreville and Falls Church, Virginia. Volunteers (for this organization dedicated to providing early childhood care, foster care services, health & mental health, intervention & prevention, housing & hunger, and legal & employment counseling) help sort and organize donations, ensure the shopping area is organized and that items are displayed in their proper place, and assist with customers’ questions and purchases.
In Brighton and Hove in the UK, The Clock Tower Sanctuary runs volunteer-supported programs for homeless youth. Find out how to pitch in here.
Clocktower Productions in lower Manhattan was launched by MoMA in the 1970s as a museum radio station, and now they produce multimedia art projects all around New York. They occasionally put out calls for volunteers to help run this vibrant, forward-thinking arts agency.
Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts, has plenty of volunteer positions, pitching in wit everything from carpentry to guest relations, flower arranging, newsletter, and computer work.
The American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut, needs volunteer tour guides and ambassadors (as well as summertime gardener helpers).
Now…any of you…once you’ve gotten in the groove of your new time-focused volunteering…would you please make the sun stay up later each day? I’d really appreciate it!
PS: Replace your smoke detector batteries when you re-set your clocks this weekend!
Change by Doing 