Volunteer with Us

An LLGI docent is a trained volunteer who serves as a trusted guide and ambassador for Holocaust education. Rather than lecturing, docents facilitate conversation, reflection, and meaningful engagement with history - helping students and community members connect the past to responsibility today.

Docents support learning experiences in The Spark Interactive Mobile Museum, classrooms and school-based programs, community and public events, and at other LLGI educational initiatives.

Depending on the program, docents may guide students through interactive exhibits and digital stations, facilitate small-group discussions and reflection, support educators and LLGI staff during visits, help create a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment, and welcome and orient visitors at community events. At the heart of the role is helping to humanize history, connecting memory to responsibility and learning to action.

No. Docents come from many backgrounds. What matters most is your ability to engage thoughtfully with learners, communicate with empathy, and commit to ongoing learning. LLGI provides comprehensive training and support.

We aim to align volunteer opportunities with your interests and strengths. This role is ideal for individuals with strong communication skills, emotional maturity, and empathy; comfort engaging middle and high school students; a commitment to respectful, accurate language; reliability and professionalism; and a genuine interest in facilitating dialogue rather than delivering lectures.

This is not a drop-in or one-time volunteer role, but a mission-driven commitment rooted in responsibility and trust. Applicants should be prepared for required training and certification, engaging with emotionally complex content, ongoing reflection and learning, professionalism when representing LLGI and Spark Interactive, and supporting learners who may be emotionally impacted.

Yes. Because docents work with minors in school settings, all volunteers must consent to and successfully complete a comprehensive background check.

LLGI provides comprehensive preparation and ongoing support, including orientation to our mission and educational approach; foundational Holocaust history and survivor testimony; facilitation and trauma-informed engagement training; hands-on exhibit and technology instruction; mentorship and shadowing prior to certification; and ongoing learning and refresher opportunities. You are never expected to do this work alone.

We deeply value the experience volunteers bring from other museums, memorials, and educational organizations, and that background often enriches our learning community. However, prior training does not replace LLGI's required preparation.

LLGI training is essential because it focuses on learning to work with The Spark Interactive Mobile Holocaust Museum and its technology, understanding the stories of local Holocaust survivors whose lives and legacies shape our programs, and aligning on shared language, values, and standards when representing LLGI in schools and communities.

Our training ensures that all docents - regardless of prior experience - are prepared to offer learners a consistent, thoughtful, and responsible experience rooted in LLGI's mission.

Initial docent training requires approximately 10 hours and is completed before certification. Training includes orientation to LLGI's mission and educational approach, foundational Holocaust history and local survivor stories, facilitation and trauma-informed engagement strategies, and hands-on experience with interactive exhibits and technology. Ongoing learning and refresher opportunities will be provided to support continued growth.

Becoming an LLGI docent is a thoughtful, multi-step process that includes a reflective application, a conversation with LLGI staff, required training and shadowing, and certification before independent service. We see this process as the start of a meaningful partnership.

If you feel drawn to this work and prepared to engage with history in a thoughtful, relational way, we invite you to reach out and begin the application process.