First Posted: 11/24/2014

As I am writing this there is a group of amazing volunteers downstairs in the theater busy decorating the Dietrich for the upcoming holidays. Led by our volunteer theater manager, they will transform the Dietrich into a whimsical winter wonderland. I can’t wait to see what it will look like. The final result is always breathtaking and it will be ready for all to view on Thanksgiving Day.

One of my favorite parts of December at the Dietrich is watching families’ reactions to the dazzling decorations as they enter the theater. These volunteers not only donate their time to decorating the Dietrich, but some of them also donate and buy decorations for the theater so we can focus our funding on the Dietrich’s mission of providing movies and arts and educational programming to all ages in the region.

In addition to our team of Christmas decorators, the Dietrich receives tremendous support from countless other volunteers. Our volunteers are integral to the theater’s operation so this week of Thanksgiving, I thought I would share with you all that volunteers do at the Dietrich and express our thanks to them.

Since it is the holiday season, I guess I should start by telling you about our gift bag volunteers.

You know, those beautifully wrapped movie bags that we have available at the Dietrich throughout the year to give as gifts for just about any occasion. Well, they are all created by volunteers. Volunteers come in throughout the year to wrap and stuff bags, and from September through December our Shirley Fisher organizes large work parties of volunteers to make enough bags to meet your holiday gift giving needs.

We also have volunteers who help out with the Dietrich’s annual Homemade Cookie Walk, which is just around the corner, and other fundraising events held throughout the year. These events are developed and organized by our Fundraising Committee.

Oh, and I guess I should mention here: If you are interested in volunteering to make cookies for our upcoming Cookie Walk which will be held on Dec. 5 and 6, please call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 to sign up.

The theater also has volunteers who help during movie showings.

They sell tickets or work in concession making and scooping popcorn and filling sodas. We even have a volunteer supervisor and projectionist. It is always nice to see their smiling faces when you go to the movies and they make sure that all those who attend the Dietrich feel completely welcomed. Many of these volunteers come in on a weekly basis and have been doing so for several years.

What dedication.

We also have great volunteers who are essential to our bi-annual film festivals and cultural events. Our gala night film festival volunteers are fantastic. They are willing to step in and help with whatever needs to be done from serving beverages and hors d’oeuvres to handing out programs to seating and greeting guests.

We also have volunteers that help with cultural events such as River Day, concerts, exhibit installation and presentations. Many community members have also volunteered their time and talent for community theatre and Dietrich Children’s Theatre performances. Some of our classroom teachers also contribute their time and skills to the theater.

Volunteers help manage the Dietrich’s mailing list and memberships, work on mailings, distribute brochures and fold programs for events.

We also have a team of volunteers who run birthday parties at the Dietrich. They prepare and host these parties as well as other events.

Volunteers help with maintenance issues from painting to fixing lighting to building storage in our office to creating and maintaining our beautiful greenspace and more.

Our board of directors also serve as volunteers, and our Executive Director Emeritus volunteers her time booking movies for the Dietrich from the latest blockbusters to film festival movies. We also have a terrific volunteer bookkeeper who has given tremendous amounts of time to the theater. She comes in typically four days a week and has been doing so for the past fourteen years.

There are countless other volunteers that do so much for the Dietrich. Without all of our their time, talent and enthusiasm, the Dietrich would not have reopened or become the community hub it is today for movies, art, culture and education – so thank you! We are truly grateful.

As you can see, the Dietrich is so much more than the movies!