Join us as a volunteer for the Half Moon Bay History Association

Cartoon by Deb Wong of Coastside News (Original Image)

The History Association appreciates and needs volunteers to help with the important work of preserving and celebrating our local Coastside history! Our rich history includes Ohlone villages, large Mexican ranchos, fishing and whaling, and later farming settlements of the 19th century, the Prohibition era, WW2 (including internment and other immigrant restrictions), and even surfing!

We are a completely volunteer run 501(c)3 non-profit.  We rely on volunteers for everything that we do.

• Help us as a docent in our museum and historic jail, or with walking tours.
• We need help with office work. There are donor and collection databases to maintain, as well as planning and producing our quarterly newsletter and public programs.
• We would like help with our collections, including inventorying our collection, and updating our database. Also with processing offers for new materials as donations and loans.
• The Oral History Project needs more interviewers as many of our local stories are disappearing, along with the people who can still tell them. Our training includes a conversation guide and the equipment to record interviews, in person, or with zoom.
• Research questions about local history. Many visitors post questions for us on our website or Facebook page, by email, and by phone. This research can be done remotely, usually on the internet. We have access to some special websites, and can show you some of the resources that we use.
• Join our fund-raising team to ensure that funds will be available for projects including the Museum exhibits and operation, and the activities of our committees. If you like to plan and help with special events, this could be a great way to volunteer. We also would like help writing grant applications.
• Assist with our education activities.  The Education Committee brings local Coastside history to all third graders in the local elementary schools.  We have the materials ready to expand to other grades, but lack the people to carry it out.  If you love working with students then this might be a fun activity for you. The Education Committee is working to produce video presentations as a supplement to our visits to the classrooms.
• Something else that you are an expert or passionate about related to local history?

We are an inclusive organization, and provide Spanish translations when we have time and resources. It would be wonderful to provide materials in other languages, as well. Multilingual volunteers would help us to translate many more communications. If you are willing to translate materials, including exhibit information, please contact us.

If you are passionate about local history, and you’d like to be a volunteer with the Half Moon Bay History Association, please contact us by email volunteer4history@gmail.com or leave a message on our voicemail  (650) 479-1935