Volunteer

Elawa Farm would not be what it is without the much appreciated time, talents and efforts put in by our community of volunteers.  Whether your interest is gardening, flower arranging, cooking, baking, participating in a classic garden market, helping with unique special events or finding fellowship, we have volunteer options for you.      

The main volunteer season is April to December, Monday through Saturday.  Volunteers typically participate in the garden, market, kitchen or special events as described below.  Individuals, families, businesses and community groups are welcome – no experience necessary! 

Contact:

If you are interested in volunteering at Elawa as an individual, family or group, please contact us at info@elawafarm.org or 847-234-1966 ext. 802

Volunteer In The Garden:  

Individuals and groups of volunteers help with planting, watering, weeding and harvesting vegetables and flowers in the garden from April to November.

Volunteers hours are Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. – noon.  To sign up to participate, please click here.  

The garden is a great opportunity for folks that enjoy the outdoors. It is also a terrific option for school service hours, master gardener volunteer hours, community groups or corporate teambuilding.

Volunteer in the Market and/orFlower Arranging:

Market volunteers greet and welcome visitors to Elawa.  Working both indoor and out, volunteers assist staff and other volunteers with flower arranging, merchandising, sales, customer service, sampling and tidying in the Garden Market on Friday and Saturday mornings.

In season, the Garden Market is open Fridays and Saturdays, 8am to 1pm.

The Kitchen:

Volunteers work as a team assisting our Chef,  Katie Merkle, to prepare food for sale at our weekly market and special holiday events. This includes pies for Thanksgiving and holiday houses for the Holiday Market in December.

Kitchen volunteers work primarily indoors preparing, cooking, baking, decorating and packaging. 

The kitchen runs on a schedule May through December that coordinates with Garden Market days and other special programming.

Special Events:

Volunteers are needed on some of our special days throughout the season to help with greeting, registration and set up on the day of special events.  Special event fundraisers include our June fundraising event, our farm-to-table "Harvest Dinner" in September, Garden Conservancy Open Days in September and our Holiday Market in December.

Volunteer Requirements:

All volunteers must complete a signed waiver in order to participate. Those under the age of 18 must have a signature of a parent or guardian. Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or group chaperone for all training and service.  We also ask volunteers to sign in and document their donated time in our volunteer office as it is important to us to recognize all of your dedicated efforts throughout the year!