You can’t visit the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage without running into a “Friend.” That’s the Friends of the Maltz Museum (FOMM), the volunteer arm of the organization that plays a major role in visitor interaction and is a living example of the museum’s mission.
The museum’s dedication to providing the best experience for its visitors and the groups that it educates off-site starts with the selection of volunteers. You don’t have to be Jewish to volunteer, in fact, as it grows, the Maltz Museum continues to look for ways to add to its interfaith component. The essential element the museum wants, though, is chemistry, both in the office and on the museum floor.
Once you become a Friend, CEO Judi Feniger ensures that you’re seen as a valuable piece of the organization. FOMMs go through an orientation and receive ongoing training. The continuous training through “lunch and learns” and workshops is to enhance their knowledge on museum-related topics and communication techniques. All of which are efforts to better the visitor experience.
The organization’s dedication to retaining quality volunteers and maintaining a strong customer connection is shown through specific examples. For instance, the museum once had a well-versed docent with high energy and skills in interior decorating and design whom started to pursue additional volunteer opportunities. Museum leaders knew they couldn’t lose the valuable volunteer, so they asked her to use her design skills to help plan museum events, which reignited her passion at the museum.
Of course, FOMMs reach visitors through multiple experiences. One FOMM has told thousands of schoolchildren her personal story of running from the Nazis at age 10. After Nazis invaded her hometown in Poland, she hid in the woods with her family for nearly three years before being rescued by the Russian underground.
It’s the FOMMs’ dedication and personal connection to the museum that has created a culture of education and customer care.
How to reach: Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Friends (Volunteer) Program, (216) 593-0575 or www.maltzmuseum.org
