Community Corner
13-year-old Princetonian Starts Volunteerism Early
Victoria Wayland of Princeton Borough started volunteering at a young age with her mother.
Victoria Wayland spends most Saturdays at the Arts Council of Princeton, working as a classroom assistant and helping build scenery for a recent community play “On Air,” in which she also acted.
Just 13 years old, Victoria has already earned the one of the organization's highest honors: she was a co-recipient of the 2011 "Volunteer of the Year" award, along with her mother, Beth Harrison.
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“The number and variety of things they have done in support of the Arts Council of Princeton is extraordinary,” Arts Council Administrative Manager Julie Sullivan-Crowley of the mother-daughter team.
Beth Harrison typically spends Saturdays greeting visitors and working at the front desk of the Arts Council.
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Victoria and her mother have been volunteering with the Princeton non-profit for more than two years.
It all started when Victoria enrolled in the Arts Council's summer camp at age eight. Victoria had enjoyed art classes at Riverside Elementary School so it was a natural progression to explore the Arts Council, her mother said.
“We looked for an arts-related camp that would be stimulating and nurturing,” Harrison said.
Once they became involved, volunteering was the next step, said Harrison, who previously volunteered at Princeton Medical Center and Riverside Elementary School. She said Victoria joined her in those efforts when she was old enough.
Victoria, who lives in Princeton Borough and now attends John Witherspoon Middle School, said she enjoys the benefits of the volunteer work.
“After you help with a class or work on props for an event it is so rewarding to see the finished product,” she said. “I love the variety of people who come by, wondering what the building houses, and then they stay to spend time in the gallery or come back for a performance or class.”
Harrison enjoys it too.
“We really love working together on projects and meeting many different people,” she said.
The mother-daughter team have a weekly volunteer shift on Saturday afternoons with Community Arts Manager Maria Evans, who said it was the pair's competence, reliability and responsibility are part of why they were named Volunteers of the Year.
“They couldn’t be better,” Evans said. “I love Saturdays.”
