Earlier this week, the Hands On Children’s Museum announced record attendance numbers at Sand in the City. The annual event, held in August, raises funds for the Museum’s Free and Reduced Admission Programs.
Nearly 45,000 people attended Sand in the City 2012 with over 20,000 folks in attendance on Saturday alone, marking the event’s single biggest day ever.
Attendees helped raise over $100,000 to support free access to the Museum.
To make the event happen, the Museum relies heavily on volunteers. The final count totaled 392 volunteers on hand, contributing over 2300 hours to the event.
“We have volunteers involved in every aspect of Sand in the City,” says Museum Volunteer Coordinator Addie Rocchio.
“For example, over the summer, a crew of 25 or so volunteers donated more than 400 hours to cut ribbon, punch circles and finalize all the prep work for our activities that happen during the event,” describes Rocchio.
Rocchio stresses that volunteers are everywhere at the event – Alpine Experience staff helping at the rock wall, volunteers serving food at the Kiwanis booth, managing parking, face painting, or manning one of the big activity booths.
“Our youngest volunteer was a 9-year-old girl who was volunteering alongside her mom,” says Rocchio. Volunteers even included citizens in their upper 70’s.
Want to help out next year? The application and volunteer job list for Sand in the City 2013 will be posted on the Museum’s website in February.
Thank you volunteers and neighbors for supporting the Museum’s efforts to give every child a chance to learn from the hands-on exhibits. Watch for ThurstonTalk articles pertaining to the Grand Opening of the New Hands On Children’s Museum.
