Volunteer | National Bell Festival

Volunteer

Have you been wanting to lend your support to a plucky nonprofit with global reach? Do you like bringing people together, learning about history, and celebrating cultures and communities? Then we’d like to meet you! Help us make it ring by volunteering with the National Bell Festival. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to bring together a major festival that spans continents, while helping preserve the heritage of bell ringing for the next generation. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to get involved.

Cover image: A volunteer passes out #BellFest beanies to festivalgoers on New Year’s Day during the National Bell Festival on January 1, 2020.

Host an event at your bell tower

Ring in the New Year – literally – with the National Bell Festival! Bells and bell towers the world over are invited to join in the tintinnabulation and to send their bells thundering. There are many ways to get involved. Consider ringing at midnight as part of our Ring around the World or during the day at our nationwide ringing event. Many countries and regions coordinate massed ringing at set times on New Year’s Day, so that everyone can participate together. Handbell groups perform concerts. Some bell towers welcome festivalgoers with a warm cup of cocoa and a cookie, or offer the opportunity to climb the bell tower. Let us know about an event in your community!

Section image: A bell ringer with the Virginia Bronze handbell ensemble performs a medley of songs from the back of a double-decker bus during the National Bell Festival on January 1, 2020.

Volunteer for event support

From our hub in Washington, D.C., the National Bell Festival coordinates a thrilling line-up of events and experiences on New Year’s Day. From concerts, recitals, peals, and massed tolling, to curated community programming, we rely on the support of volunteers to make it happen. Volunteers can take on many roles, including welcoming guests to an event, passing out swag, providing information to festivalgoers, and helping with on-site setup and cleanup.

Section image: Volunteers help push an 800-lb. bell from 1863 onto the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the Emancipation Proclamation’s 160th anniversary ringing tribute during the National Bell Festival on January 1, 2023.

Serve as a regional coordinator

We envision a day when every bell and bell tower on earth is ringing in the New Year together. To help us reach that goal, we need gallant campanologists and bell enthusiasts to spread the word and enjoin bell participation. Across America and across the world, we rely on a network of regional coordinators to reach out to local bell towers, build relationships, and expand involvement in the festival.

Section image: Festivalgoers look to the sky as the 56-bell carillon in The Knights' Tower at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception erupts into sound under the direction of carillonist Dr. Robert Grogan during the National Bell Festival on January 1, 2022.

Fundraise for bell casting and restoration

Restoring historic bells, casting new bells, and installing bells in communities across the nation takes quite a few dollars. The more we’re able to fundraise, the more bells we can set ringing. Consider helping the National Bell Festival gather donations for a specific bell or project. Rally your network, reach out to local businesses, and drive awareness to help our nonprofit reach its mission of celebrating and restoring the bells around us.

How to volunteer with us

Are you ready to set bells swinging and ringing with us? Let us know you’re interested by dropping us a line. We’ll then be in touch to see how we might work together on the upcoming festival or a particular bell restoration project in your community.

Section image: The storied cast iron bell at Georgetown Lutheran Church is removed for restoration and refurbishment work commissioned by the National Bell Festival.