Ehrenamt

When asked about their personal motivation, almost all volunteers at the Stadtmuseum share a great interest in art, archaeology and the history of Hofheim. In addition, the desire for a meaningful task and the opportunity to meet new people and develop their skills in exchange with like-minded people are also at the forefront. In addition, the diverse special exhibitions and the associated areas of work offer attractive opportunities to contribute individual knowledge and personal strengths in a meaningful way.

At the end of my professional career, I was already looking into possible honorary positions in Hofheim. In 1995, I chose the first Ladies Lions Club in Hesse, for which I held various board positions until 2002. Through my mother, who had run the "Café Fröhlich" for the SeniorenNachbarschaftsHilfe (SNH) for many years, I got to know the club and began to get actively involved. In particular, I was able to use my professional experience to organize and run events, weekly trips and day trips. After all, the path to the city museum was obvious, as I had already worked for Mayor Felix as secretary on the board of the Friends' Association and was also a member of the Marta Hoepffner Society for Photography. I have been working as a supervisor at the museum since 2016 and have fond memories of my "first" exhibition, the interactive family exhibition "Welcome@Hotel Global". This show, which was very popular with children and young people, led my then 8-year-old granddaughter to make the firm decision: "I will never again go to a museum where I am not allowed to touch anything".

I volunteer because I see it as a matter of course to do something for other people. I work at the Hofheim City Museum because I am very interested in art and history. The first exhibition I was allowed to look after here was Käthe Kollwitz (2006-2007). I was particularly impressed by the following exhibitions: Käthe Kollwitz - Printmaking (19.11.2006 - 18.02.2007); Jörg Immendorff - The Monkey and Me. (25.11.2007 - 24.02.2008); With power to vote. 100 years of women's suffrage in Europe (22.08. - 12.10.2008); Say, what was the GDR? A history adventure for children and young people (04.09.2011 - 22.01.2012); Mäuse, Money und Moneten. (09.11.2014 - 22.03.2015) and Welcome@HotelGlobal. An interactive adventure for all world explorers (09.12.2016 - 07.05.2017).

After reaching retirement age in 2016, I enjoyed my free time and traveled a lot. In spring 2018, I read that the city museum was looking for volunteer supervisors and I spontaneously decided to apply, so I have been volunteering at the city museum since April 2018. Through my work, I have gained insights into the work processes at the Stadtmuseum and acquired knowledge about the exhibitions. I particularly enjoy the contact with visitors, colleagues and art. I was able to deepen my knowledge and my relationship to art through the constantly changing exhibitions.

I have been working at the City Museum since Easter 2016. As a former arborist, I prefer to participate in the City Museum's educational mission in the field of archaeology. I am particularly involved in guest lectures and nature trail hikes by Professor Dr. Sabel. I am also interested in Hanna Bekker vom Rath. In addition to the museum, I also do voluntary work for the Johannes and Thomasgemeinde in self-help groups for disabled people.

Supervisors were needed for the opening of the city museum, preferably volunteers for cost reasons. Mayor Rolf Felix launched an appeal in the press and mainly retired people came forward. As I was not working and my children no longer needed maternal care, I applied for this job. I am interested in history and art and had the time and desire to commit myself to the general public. Since the opening in 1993, I have been working in the museum once or every two weeks. I have a collection of pictures from many events over the years. On the annual Museum Day, children are particularly interested and ask questions that are sometimes difficult to answer! But it's a normal process that also serves to broaden horizons and is a lot of fun. Joint events for the volunteers at Christmas time, after New Year or a summer party also help them to communicate with each other. I am now 83 years old and would like to continue to supervise the museum for as long as I can.