Volunteering for the Park is an Important Contribution.

Volunteers are an important part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and they are essential to Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Volunteers are one of the Park’s greatest assets, and most precious resources.  In 2007 alone, 2,439 volunteers contributed 114,364 hours valued at $2,061,983 (or the equivalent of 56.4 permanent staff members).  These precious hours make the dollars given to Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park go even further!

To learn more about volunteer opportunities in Great Smoky Mountains National Park through the Volunteers-in-Parks program, contact Babette Collavo (babette_collavo@nps.gov).

More than 4,000 volunteer hours were given to Friends of the Smokies in 2007.  Volunteering is a very personal gift of life’s most treasured commodities- TIME & TALENT.  Last year, 22 individuals gave more than 35 hours to Friends of the Smokies (see below), and many more volunteered at fundraising events like the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and the Friends Across the Mountains Telethon.

Recruiting volunteers is part of our mission statement.  Friends of the Smokies continually seeks volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks related to our efforts to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  For more information on volunteer opportunities in Tennessee with Friends of the Smokies, contact Holly Burcham (fotshb@bellsouth.net); for North Carolina, contact Elaine Stewart (fotses@bellsouth.net).

2007 Volunteer Honor Roll