The First Of Many Volunteer Ideas: Become A Greeter.
By Marilyn Machlowitz
Do you know where to buy the best banh mi in town? Were you the first to find a new niche bookstore? Are you a fan of a small, free museum that isn’t yet on TripAdvisor?
Then you’re the perfect person to become a Greeter!
What is a Greeter? Greeters are volunteers, often retired, who are not tour guides but who stroll with visitors on days and times of their choosing, typically for two to four hours. The visitors may be international tourists, people new to your city, parents of students attending college in your city, or anyone else. Visitors are groups of one to six people traveling together: family members, friends or coworkers attending a convention.
Visits, which are free, can include walks, public transportation, and stops at shops and eateries. Visitors want to learn the inside story of living in a place and to see unique and quirky things that they wouldn’t find on their own. A Greeter introduces them to things no guidebook can.
Gail Morse, Director of Programs & Volunteers for Big Apple Greeter, says “This is the most unusual volunteer job you’ll ever have.” She continues, “We’re reaching across cultural differences. We’re making friends for New York City and, by extension, the United States. We’re finding out and we’re proving we’re so much more alike than different.” Tourists are “thrilled to have a New Yorker all to themselves.”
Greets began in New York City in 1992 and are still going strong (in all five boroughs), as well as in Chicago and in Houston. Oddly, Greets operate in very few cities in the US, but if you are in one of them you might love becoming a Greeter.
How to Become a Greeter
Volunteering begins with a visit to the organization’s website (see below) where you will be asked to submit an application. An interview (often, via Zoom) follows. Thereafter, prospective volunteers are asked to accompany (shadow) an established Greeter on a Greet (as the visits are known). Information is then shared with Greeters as to Best Practices and Recommendations.
When I started volunteering with Big Apple Greeter in mid-2022, I found the shadow Greet extremely valuable. I learned how the Greeter emailed and established expectations in advance with the visiting family and established a meeting place and time, an ending time three hours later, and an itinerary for their approval. I saw how she guided them in the use of public transportation (private cars are not used). I learned how she intrigued their two children—and decided I’d prefer not to guide children. I observed how she stopped for photo breaks. And I noted how she adeptly timed a coffee/bathroom/sitting break and pointed her charges towards food halls for lunch
Every Greeter organization I spoke to–-in New York, Chicago and Houston—is eager to enlist more volunteers. Each one has a heavy contingent of retired women (and men) among its volunteers. While most Greets are conducted in English, there is a need for volunteers fluent in other languages
What Are Greets Like
Visitors often want to see certain things, like the subway, busses and ferries, but Greeters are free to offer their own off the beaten track destinations.
In New York, I enjoy showing Visitors our supermarkets–and their prices—as well as specialty markets as Kalustyan’s, a fabulous spice store. I showed an Argentinian veterinarian one of New York’s abundant urgent care centers for pets. I took a dedicated baker to NY Cake, the Chelsea store that sells every imaginable product for home baking. Other Greeters enjoy sharing the gospel services of Harlem, the streets of Chinatown or the markets of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
In Houston, a volunteer must propose her own Greet—perhaps a neighborhood to explore, a museum to visit or some such. Visitors select from those Greets. For example, a tour unique to Houston is the Downtown Tunnels. Given the city’s heat, there are about seven miles of air-conditioned, underground passageways connecting skyscrapers and filled with restaurants, stores and salons.
Chicago has 77 neighborhoods and welcomes volunteers familiar with a particular one, like Bronzeville, a neighborhood rich in African-American history, is a popular destination. Chicago offers two kinds of Greets-–a one-hour InstaGreet where visitors need not pre-register and may just show up at an established spot at a specified time, as well as the more common two-to-four hour customized Greets.
Regardless of the destination, I promise you will love the experience. And so will your visitors!
For further information and to volunteer click on the links below:
Marilyn Machlowitz is an expert on executive search and a novice Big Apple Greeter. She has taken great Greets in both Chicago and London.
With Marilyn’s first post, we are offering occasional intel on meaningful volunteer opportunities for Lustre readers. It can be challenging to unearth volunteer opportunities and even harder to find those that fit—offering schedule flexibility and satisfaction. We will focus on those experiences that use or stretch your professional skills—not those for stuffing envelopes. Our goal is to acquaint you with opportunities available in metropolitan areas in the US as well as virtually from anywhere. Let us know what you think!