Volunteer Spotlight on Chris Temple
September 3, 2024 | Wolf Trap Volunteers
Discovering the Magic of Wolf Trap
Chris Temple’s experience with Wolf Trap started long before her time as a volunteer. Her earliest memories aretaking her now-grown children to Children’s Theater-in-the-Woods and having picnics by the stream. This memory shaped her love of Wolf Trap.
The great music keeps her coming back too. She especially enjoys going to a show she knows nothing about and getting to experience something completely new. Hearing Queen Latifah perform in 2018 was a definite highlight; Chris says it was some of the best live music she had ever experienced.
Chris’ favorite part about volunteering—which she strives to do twice a week—is interacting with Wolf Trap patrons. She likes answering questions; she is able to anticipate them before they are asked, a skill she picked up from her years of airline work. She also loves hearing first-time patrons say, “This place is gorgeous, and I never knew it was here.”
A Lifetime of Service
Chris was born into a military family in Oxford, Pennsylvania and has always been committed to service. She participated in Girl Scouts as a child, and when asked as a scout what her ideal job would be, said, “I would love to be a volunteer coordinator!”
Chris brings a variety of skills to Wolf Trap. A longtime nature lover, she received her BA in Environmental Sciences from the University of Delaware in 1975 and worked as a pioneer in the field of acid rain research at University of Virginia in the 1970s.
She was also an airline reservation specialist (back when you still had to make a phone call to book a plane ticket) and worked at a credit union until she retired and decided to volunteer in her community. Chris currently also volunteers at the Dulles Airport help desk and is a certified master gardener, bringing her knowledge and talents to local farmers’ markets.
Chris enjoys working with the other Foundation volunteers, and even recruited one of her fellow master gardeners to join the group. She loves how appreciated the National Park Service and Foundation staff make her feel.
Chris’ biggest piece of advice is, “Come and be part of the Wolf Trap community. There is so much more to Wolf Trap than just seeing a show. Being part of the only national park for the performing arts is amazing and a testament to a great place and group of people. Thanks, Catherine Shouse!"
Chris, seated on the far right, and other Wolf Trap Foundation Volunteers assist patrons in renting lawn seat cushions before a Wolf Trap performance.
Read more about the volunteer program and apply to serve on wolftrap.org. If you have any questions about volunteering at Wolf Trap, please call 703.255.1927 or email volunteer@wolftrap.org.
If you’d like to usher at the Filene Center, be a nature guide, or help with patron services, the National Park Service offers a separate volunteer program.