12/07/2025
Winter is Graffiti House Volunteer Training Time
The greatest recurring volunteer needs at the Brandy Station Foundation are for volunteers to help staff our Graffiti House. The Graffiti House is a unique Civil War era building which is loaded with signatures, messages and drawings made by soldiers in both the Federal and Confederate armies. As you may already know, the hours that we are open to the public are exceedingly limited, and our ability to share this precious Civil War resource with others is dependent upon the number of volunteers who can staff the building.
During the months of January and February we will be scheduling as many nearly identical six-hour training classes as necessary to accommodate those who would like to join the ranks of our Graffiti House volunteer corps. Our hours for 2025 are Saturdays from 12-4 pm, from March to the first Saturday in December, as well as by appointment. We are looking to expand into additional days, and perhaps increase our Saturday hours for 2026.
We have two different volunteer positions at the Graffiti House: Greeter and Guide. The Greeter explains to visitors what we have to offer, gives an introduction to the history of the house and the battle of Brandy Station, and operates the gift shop. The Guide takes visitors through the three graffiti rooms upstairs, sharing what we know about the people who signed the wall, and possible meanings of the messages and drawings. Virtually all of our Guides can also be a Greeter, and probably started off as a Greeter before they were comfortable being a Guide. Whenever the building is open to the public, we have one Greeter and one Guide on duty. For special events, we often have more scheduled.
During our six-hour training session, we cover some basics about the Brandy Station Foundation organization, familiarize the class with the resources available to draw upon, offer some tips for effective interpretation, walk through opening procedures, and receive a sample tour. Those in the training class will be given a training manual covering what is discussed in the training, including opening and closing procedures and a sample script of what greeters and guides may share with visitors. Volunteers are also given a booklet explaining what we have discovered about all of the signatures that we have been able to decipher and a shirt that serves as our uniform. Then we ask new volunteers to shadow an experienced Greeter or Guide for as many shifts they would like, and when comfortable, to take an independent shift.
Does becoming a Greeter or Guide interest you? If so, your next step is to let us know, and we will send out a list of dates when we can hold the training, get your reply of your availability, and then we will select several dates in January and February on which we will be able to accommodate all of our potential volunteers. Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering.
