Yale Alumni To Support Penobscot Marine Museum
Museum Seeks Additional Helpers on Volunteer Day to Prepare for May Opening

Penobscot Marine Museum is looking for a few good volunteers on Spring Cleanup & Volunteer Day.

May 3, 2011 -- An association of Yale alumni has selected Penobscot Marine Museum as the beneficiary of its annual day of service. The museum has responded by turning the May 14 event into a broader Spring Cleanup & Volunteer Day, with the goal of preparing its campus for opening day.

On May 14, blue-hatted members of the Yale Alumni Association of Eastern Maine will converge on Searsport to rake garden beds, move boats, prep woodwork for painting and perform other tasks. "Community service is an important tradition at Yale," said Steven M. Feinstein, the group's coordinator. "Every year, Yale alumni groups around the world select organizations to assist on the Yale Day of Service. For 2011, we're delighted to work with Penobscot Marine Museum, one of the premier cultural institutions in Maine."

"The museum greatly appreciates the generous support of the Yale Alumni Association of Eastern Maine," said Communications Director Bob Holtzman. He added that the museum is seeking additional volunteers from the community, and that many have already signed up, including Girl Scout Troop 2908 from Stockton Springs.

The May 14 event will begin with free breakfast at 8:30 and will run until 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be served, and renowned boatbuilder Ralph Stanley and friends will provide live music. Museum staff will be on hand to discuss ongoing opportunities for volunteers in several departments, including administration, library/archives, curatorial, education, marketing, and visitor services.

Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves. Rakes, brooms, rags, buckets, paint scrapers, step ladders, and pickup trucks may also come in handy, said Holtzman, "but the only thing you really need to bring is a desire to work alongside others." Individuals who wish to participate are requested but not required to pre-register. Service organizations and local businesses with service programs are especially encouraged to register by contacting Holtzman at 207-548-2529 ext.208 or bholtzman@pmm-maine.org.

Service for society is a core tradition at Yale, flourishing among students in New Haven and in generations of alumni and friends around the country and across the globe. Last year during the Yale Day of Service, over 3,500 Yale alumni and friends gave their time and made a difference where they live and work at nearly 250 sites in 40 states and 18 countries. Many of the projects were catalysts for ongoing community service by alumni throughout the year.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2011, Penobscot Marine Museum is Maine's oldest maritime museum and home to outstanding collections of historic boats, photography, marine art and artifacts, ship models and 19th century furnishings and architecture. Located at 40 E. Main St. (US Rte. 1) in Searsport, Maine, between Camden, Bangor, and Acadia National Park, the museum will open for the 2011 season on May 27. For more information, call 207-548-2529.