Volunteer
Job Description
DATES: 5/1/2023 – 9/30/2023
DEPT: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ADDRESS:
Mississippi River – Pools 11-22
PO Box 534
Pleasant Valley, Iowa 52767-0534
The Mississippi River Visitor center is located on the military base Rock Island Arsenal at Locks and Dam 15 on the Mississippi River. The volunteer would assist rangers with day to day Visitor Center operations.
The Mississippi River Visitor center is located on the military base Rock Island Arsenal at Locks and Dam 15 on the Mississippi River. Volunteering for us and accessing the Rock Island Arsenal does require having a valid State or Federally issued ID, like a driver’s license, and passing a background check when arriving on base.
What brings most visitors in is the chance to see boats and barges navigate through the locks. The visitor center also has displays, small movie theater, fish tank, observation deck and a gift shop. A large part of volunteering here is interacting with guests and explaining the locking process and other various missions of the Corps of Engineers. The center also acts as an information center for the Corps’ other recreations areas spread out up and down the Mississippi River from Potosi, WI to Saverton, MO. Two Park Rangers are stationed at the visitor center, but volunteers should expect to work on their own at times when rangers are working in area campgrounds. The visitor center is open Wednesday – Saturday 9am – 4pm year-round. Please check out our project website www.missriver.org for more information.
Cleaning in and around visitor center
Operation of a cash register and balancing funds
Opening and closing of facility
Giving tours or group programs
Restocking brochures and gift shop items
Staff special events as they come up
No special skills are required but being comfortable speaking in a professional manner with groups of people of all ages and backgrounds is beneficial.
- General Assistance
- Office/Clerical
- Visitor Information
- Working with People
The Corps may be able to provide you a campsite at no charge at our Class A campground Fisherman’s Corner Recreation Area which is our closest campground in Hampton, IL. It is about a 15-20 minute drive away and would be available to you for the length of our recreation season (May 1 – October 22, 2023) provided you volunteer a minimum or 21 hours (3 days) per week. We do not have a Corps campground on base where the Mississippi River Visitor Center is located.