Ways to volunteer
By volunteering here you will be part of something big, working to save this house and contents for the future. This is also your opportunity to full fill your internship requirements, get community service credit, and add to the volunteer part of your resume. You will make new friends, and you can encourage your friends to join us too. Activities change all the time , so whatever activity you choose—it is a wonderful way to get involved with like-minded people of all ages who love historic houses, antiques, vintage clothing, furniture, Victorian architecture and gardening. To become involved, please sign up using our Volunteer Form. Once we have your form, we will contact you about the dates of the ongoing training.
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Contact us about volunteering :
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Fill out the Volunteer Form.
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Subscribe to our email below to stay in the know about up and coming opportunities.
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If you have any questions about the forms, training or volunteering in a different way,
Call or Email Patty Donald, at patricia@cohenbrayhouse.org, 510-325-0506 or Email Nancy Donald, volunteer coordinator and collections manager, at nancy@cohenbrayhouse.org -
To leave a message, at the house call 510-536-1703
We meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you'd like to bring a group for a one day work party, we can work with you and find a date, just contact us.
Gardening
Become a garden volunteer today! This 1/2 acre garden contains heritage and native plants, fruit trees, hidden pathways and stories.
Currently we need your help to rebuild the compost pile and our hugelkultur garden.
The raised beds you will work on, are planted with vegetables that we share with the neighbors or you!
Water and maintain our potted annuals or weed the pathways and bulb garden, these can be done solo or with a friend. Raking and weeding everything is an ongoing task that makes a big difference in the 1/2 acre garden.
Jobs change throughout the season. No need to have prior experience but it helps.
We’ll provide the garden gloves and all necessary supplies. Just bring yourself, a hat, sunscreen and clothes, you’re comfortable getting muddy in, and get ready to weed, till, and plant in our garden.
*close toed shoes recommended​
House Collections
This home survived the late 19th century and the early 20th century and is full of the family's history, documents and belongings—a collection of everything they saved, used and felt they needed or wanted.
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Our goal is to keep the collection together, accessible and intact so this time-capsule of life in Oakland can be studied and admired by historians, designers, and graduate students, interns and you!
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We will train you to safely handle our artifacts and how to use the amazing Catalogit app. for your collections. We have so many more items to discover and catalog.
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Use this link to see our collection of 3200+ cataloged items from the house:
Help teach about the house and its history.
Are you interested in Bay Area history? Do you love old houses and antiques? As a docent, you will be trained to do historical interpretation for all ages and can help lead our monthly tours and special events. In our on going monthly training tours, you will learn about the history of the Cohen and Bray families and their deep roots in California history. Use your passion to teach others to appreciate the aesthetic interiors, collections, Victorian and Craftsman architectural details throughout the house. Gain valuable skills and be part of educating others about our long term goals and missions to connect all our histories with the neighborhood and schools in the region.
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Questions? Call 510-527-5209 to leave a message.
Help Rebuild Wooden Windows
Learn new skills or teach us yours!
Meet Mark St. Gaudens, our caretaker. He has already rebuilt over half the windows in the house. He has an amazing workshop in the back for all our restoration projects and can use your help. There is scraping, sanding, and painting. There is also adding UV filters to the existing panes.
We hope to begin helping other D.I.Y.'ers learn how to rebuild their own old wooden windows. If you already have skills in restoration, we are looking for you to help us teach as we build up our classrooms and programs. Please let us know if you are interested.
