“Celebrate what you want to see more of.”
-Tom Peters
Happy New Year to everyone! As the CAC volunteer team looks forward to 2020, let’s indeed celebrate our shared success over the course of the past year with a few facts and figures.
Our team now includes 220 “unique” individuals serving as Exhibit Hosts, Education Guides, and Guest Services Volunteers, with many of us participating in multiple roles. We welcomed 133,000 guests to the CAC during our first full year in our new home, and the crowds are growing as visitor counts during September and October were up by 10% over the Center’s traffic during the same period in 2018.
We partnered with our docent colleagues in helping achieve unprecedented guest counts for the River Cruises (up 11% vs. year-ago) and Bus Tours (+16%) with Walking Tour traffic level vs. the previous year.
Open House Weekend was a smash hit with 3319 Volunteers working over 20,000 hours in welcoming 370,000 site visitors to 352 venues across Chicagoland.
Education Guides and CAC staff recently wrapped up three months of hosting student field trips in conjunction with the Chicago Architecture Biennial at the Cultural Center. One thousand and eight hundred students benefitted from this program and were part of a 3,200 person total increase in the number of participants in 2019 Education Guide-led field trips vs. the previous year.
Bravo and thanks to all the volunteers who made the above possible as we turn our attention to the future.
In the spirit of Mr. Peters’ quote, the Volunteer Steering Committee, Communications Committee, and the CAC staff have undertaken an important step in learning what you want to see more (or less) of.
As you will see on The Bridge, via email, and in the Sears Volunteer Library during the month of January, we are very eager to see your response to our first ever Exhibit Host Survey.
Fellow Exhibit Host and Education Guide, Laureen Higgins has taken the lead in crafting a document that balances being both thorough and concise in seeking your input in helping chart the future course for the Exhibit Host program.
The survey asks for your thoughts and satisfaction levels on issues including shift scheduling, training, communications (including specific thoughts about The Bridge), continuing education, benefits, and more. Please, please, please find ten minutes to complete the survey as we will be using your perceptions and suggestions to plan the ongoing path not only for the Exhibit Hosts but also for the full CAC Volunteer team.
Cheers, Bob