Christina Calogheros has logged more than 8,000 hours volunteering at The Exploration Place Museum & Science Centre.
The inspiration behind her dedication is her sister-in-law Tracy Calogheros, who is the CEO of The Exploration Place.
“I saw just how much work Tracy was putting into this place – she put her heart and soul, blood, sweat and tears into it,” Christina recalled. “Seeing that first hand I thought if I could give some time here and there then why not? It’s a non-profit charity and there’s not enough money to go around and it makes me feel good to contribute. It’s just a big piece of our community and such a pivotal part of it – it’s a learning centre for little one to big ones and everybody in between and there’s always something new in the museum, which is really cool.”
Everyone that works and volunteers for The Exploration Place has so much love for it, Christina added.
“It just resonates,” Christina said. You spend a bit of time here with everybody and you see how much it all means to them and it inspires you to do the same.”
Christina said they are always looking for more volunteers and it’s not a big commitment. An hour every other week, a couple of hours a month, whatever people can do would be helpful.
There’s new exhibits coming in all the time and as the old saying goes, many hands make light work.
“I do a little bit of everything so right now we’re taking one exhibit down and replacing it with another,” Christina said, who is in her work coveralls. “My favourite part is just to interact with people. It’s always busy here and there’s always something that needs doing.”
Christina think volunteering in the community is very important.
“Whether it be here or somewhere else, giving back to the community is a big part of what makes Prince George Prince George,” Christina said. “There are so many kind people out there that if asked will do what they can and so I ask everyone to reach out to The Exploration Place, reach out to anywhere and if that’s something you could do you won’t regret it. It’s a great feeling to be able to help out.”
