At Walton Arts Center, the entire month of April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. This standing ovation is well deserved – our volunteers help us every single day, by welcoming you to the theater, scanning your ticket and helping you find your seat. In addition to working these public performances, volunteers also give their time to support our school shows, special events such as Art of Wine and Masquerade Ball and assist our staff with administrative tasks throughout the year.
Since July 2023, our volunteers have served over 14,839 hours, scanned over 72,027 tickets and stuffed over 49,000 OnStage magazines with programs for shows.
You’ve heard it said that “the show must go on.” We say something similar about our volunteers – the show could not go on without them! With 216 total volunteers, there are many fun facts and amazing stories to share as we celebrate our entire volunteer troupe.
These current volunteers have volunteered for over 25 years each, resulting in over 140 years between the five of them.
Of the volunteer crew,
Three have served over 30 years
Three have served 25 years
Five have served over 20 years
16 have served 15 years
50 have volunteered for five or more years
125 have served five years or less
Based on a recent survey of our volunteers – you can see there are some definite shared interests and some varied backgrounds:
40 volunteers have visited five or more countries
22 are in the education profession or are currently a student (other professions include healthcare, sales/marketing, public service and Armed Forces and so many more)
39 said their favorite series at Walton Arts Center is the Procter and Gamble Broadway Series (four said 10x10 Arts Series was their favorite)
Favorite activities among volunteers include cooking, traveling, gardening, doing puzzles, sewing and painting, playing piano and singing! Several play instruments or participate in community theater, and one volunteer was a magic clown for 30 years!
Languages spoken include Spanish, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Russian, French, German and Filipino.
74% of our volunteers live in Washington County, but also include residents of Centerton, Rogers, Bentonville, Lowell, Bella Vista, Siloam Springs, Garfield and Kingston.
Volunteering is all about working with others for a common cause, and our volunteer corps excels there. But they’ve also done some amazing things on their own including:
Participated in a Guinness World Record for “singing ‘YMCA’ in a crowd”
Babysat Chicago Bear’s football player Mike Ditka’s four children
Became fluent in three languages
Helped start the first Big Sisters organization in Wichita, Kansas in the 1970s
Survived a hot air balloon accident
Met their wife on a bicycle ride from New Orleans to Canada
Sailed on the Queen Elizabeth II
Visited Rwanda for work twice in the years leading up to the civil war
Lived overseas for 27 years
Stepped foot on six out of seven continents
Drove a car in President Kennedy’s motorcade
Rode their bicycle across the U.S. four times
Worked as a merchant seaman
Ushered for University of Arkansas athletics for 21 years
And so much more!
No matter your background or interests, you can find a fun, rewarding, inspiring place to serve here at Walton Arts Center with our volunteer team. Volunteers surveyed said that their favorite things about being a volunteer are the people they have met through volunteering and getting to see the shows.
If you see a volunteer – thank them for their service. And if you are looking for a place to plug in – come join the team!