For eight years, Ginny Kasserman has diligently recorded every hour and show she’s volunteered for at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. With each entry, her trusty spreadsheet has grown to tell an incredible story of dedication.
In 2023 alone, Ginny devoted an impressive 703 hours to the Trust. And for the past two years, she has led the organization in volunteer hours, averaging 125 shows each season.
However, those numbers only tell one part of the story. For Ginny, volunteer work has become a true passion, though that passion began unexpectedly. In 2016, Ginny had recently retired after 30 years of working in financial services and was looking for ways to fill her time. One day over lunch, a friend told her about the volunteer usher program at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and encouraged Ginny to join her in signing up.
Ginny (second from right) prepares for a show at the Benedum Center.
“At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the commitment of 25 shows per year,” she admitted. “But, after taking a few months to think it over, I realized a few shows each month was doable. I thought, ‘I can do that. I’ll give it a try anyways.’”
Full of nerves, Ginny doesn’t remember much about her first show, a performance of Matilda the Musical at the Benedum Center. However, she vividly remembers how a seasoned usher took her under her wing. Thanks to the supportive community of volunteers, Ginny soon found herself becoming comfortable.
“Each season, I took on more and more shows. Before I knew it, I was logging more hours than I had ever expected.”
In fact, when she found out she had logged the most hours in both 2022 and 2023 she was “dumbfounded.”
Over the course of those many hours, Ginny has experienced every aspect of the volunteer usher experience—from scanning tickets and seating patrons to staffing the donor lounge. While she enjoys the varied duties assigned to her, the main reason she comes back is for the people. In addition to recognizing familiar faces, Ginny says she finds joy in witnessing first timers' reactions.
“When they walk in, you can see their faces light up. It’s such a nice feeling to have people appreciating these spaces. They’re just awestruck.”
Ginny volunteering at the Children's Theater Festival.
Even as a veteran volunteer, Ginny finds herself in awe of the venues too, as well as of the performances. When asked about her favorite show, Ginny doesn’t hesitate.
"It's Hamilton—hands down. I worked that show as many times as I could—about 15 times during each of its runs in Pittsburgh."
With each show, Hamilton or otherwise, Ginny has developed a deeper appreciation for the arts scene in Pittsburgh— something she says she took for granted prior to working at the Trust.
“We are so fortunate in Pittsburgh to have the Cultural District, with all of its theaters and everything else we have going on. You expect that kind of activity in a bigger city like New York, but not always here."
Ginny consults her checklist at the Artist Market during the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Looking foward, Ginny is particularly eager for the 2024 Broadway season, especially Come From Away and Funny Girl. Plus, to her delight, Hamilton is appearing for a third time in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when it comes again,” she jokes.
With a contagious excitement for the arts, Ginny encourages anyone interested in volunteering at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to give it a try:
"I always say, 'No matter what you do, somebody has done it before. We’ve all been new and made mistakes. But we just need to work our way through it. You can do it too.'"
Interested in becoming a Pittsburgh Cultural Trust volunteer like Ginny? You can apply for a volunteer position here. Please email volunteer@trustarts.org with any questions.
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