Mennonite Heritage Village hires youth and young adults every spring to assist our permanent staff with various aspects of operating an outdoor museum and tourist attraction. We have excellent staff who manage their respective departments throughout the year. And we have several hundred faithful volunteers who offer their time and expertise each year to assist us with programs, events, and care for the facilities. However, if we didn’t add summer staff for the months of May to September, MHV would not have the capacity to offer school field trips, children’s day camps, and large community events and celebrations. We would not be able to keep up with the maintenance of the grounds, the heritage village and the farmyard. And it would be difficult to open our facilities to visitors seven days per week throughout the spring and summer months.
With the assistance of provincial and federal grants, MHV can offer meaningful employment to young adults, specifically college and university students who are looking for jobs to help them pay for their school costs. We know that summer jobs enable us to offer programs that engage our community. School field trips, kids’ day camps, and summer festivals offer experiences from the past in an outdoor village setting. Celebrating the heritage of our community provides a foundation for shaping our present and planning for the future of our growing, caring community.
Summer employment for young adults at MHV is more than a paycheque that will pay for school courses and books. MHV believes that the work that we do is meaningful. Our summer staff are developing young leaders who are learning about the importance of being involved in our community. They interact with children, youth, parents and seniors, both as guests and as fellow participants in the activities of the museum. They are acquiring knowledge and skills that will assist them in their future careers. Many of our education department staff have continued their postsecondary education and become teachers in our schools. Many summer staff continue to engage with our programs as participants or volunteers in the years following their summer employment experience because they have made meaningful connections with our staff and believe in our mission.
Providing employment opportunities for young adults benefits MHV by increasing our capacity to plan great programming and festivals for all generations in our community. The new ideas and perspectives that our summer staff bring to our organization contribute to our ability to improve our current programs and to try new initiatives as societal priorities evolve.
Mennonite Heritage Village is anticipating a busy spring and summer season, interacting with thousands of visitors, hosting school groups, and offering a gathering place for our community at our restaurant, at our festivals, and in our reception halls. We are very thankful that we can count on our summer staff to assist us in carrying out our plans for an interesting, interactive season. Our hope is that they develop skills, knowledge and competencies that will lay a foundation for their future vocations and careers. We welcome our seasonal staff to the MHV team.
