Recognizing FY2019 Volunteer Projects

Last year, 2,050 volunteers contributed 39,332 hours to the Minnesota Historical Society. But, what kind of projects did they work on?

• 3M employees from the company’s Native American Network and the Women’s Organization of MNHS hand-lettered 70 stars for the First Avenue exhibit. The stars were hand-cut by a long-time MNHS volunteer. The 3M group also put together 2,000 bandolier bags for a school program project.
• MNopedia volunteers and interns completed phase one of the Minnesota Place Names project by proofing geocoding for 87% of the project’s 6,114 entries, and published 15 articles.
• A collections volunteer made over 3,000 corrections to our death certificate index and has also reviewed 200 death index comments and public emails.
• 20 state archives volunteers completed the rehousing of 142 boxes of Ramsey County District Court criminal case files dated 1858–1930. The volunteers organized 13,000 file envelopes from the boxes. This 15-month project resulted in boxes that are better preserved and easier for library researchers to use.
• 24 volunteers distributed nearly 40,000 State Fair walking tour brochures to fairgoers.
• A group of volunteers—79% from Somali and East African communities—contributed 465 hours by advising and assisting with community events and MNHS programs associated with the Somalis + Minnesota exhibit.
• Somalis + Minnesota intercept survey volunteers, or The Data Squad, reached the goal of 383 responses.