Volunteer
With You All Things Are Possible
Volunteers are vital to Ilan-Lael! For many years volunteers have been integral to the success of our mission at Ilan-Lael. They help us with art projects, events, tours and the general care and keeping of our 10-acre home and studio compound.
Why volunteer?
After receiving your feedback at our 2026 Volunteer luncheon in January, we are pleased to announce an incentive program for acknowledging, and appreciating the hours and talent that is contributed by you, our volunteers at the Ilan-Lael Foundation.
The program will be structured in hours based accrual with 3 levels of both recognition and benefits:
Sweet Pea Level
1-12 volunteer hours/ year
Special Recognition and Name listed on website
30% discount at ILF store
Manzanita Level
13-24 volunteer hours/ year
Everything in Sweet Pea Level
T-shirt or Re-usable bag
2 Free tours for friends per year
Annual Pool Party Invite
Oak Level
25-48 volunteer hours/ year
Everything in Sweet Pea Level and Manzanita Level
Two seats at a workshop of your choice
At the beginning of each Month we will announce the volunteers that have achieved the next level of the incentive program. Be sure to check each update email!
OPEN VOLUNTEERING WORK DAYS – Open work days are a perfect opportunity to give back to the community while helping us care for the iconic Ilan-Lael property. We invite you to bring along friends to share in the experience on these informal and fun work days. We have activities in the garden, archive, docent training and property clean up. Whatever your interest or skills, we will find a task for you. We begin at 10AM and break for a communal lunch around 12noon, so bring a lunch and water bottle.
- Saturday June 6th – Season Open Studios – 2 volunteer spots – some experience required
- Friday June 12th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday June 26th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday July 10th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday July 24th – Open Volunteer Day
- Saturday 8/1 wellness workshop with Liz Meyer 1 spot for an experienced Docent
- Friday August 14th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday August 28th – Open Volunteer Day
- Saturday September 5th – Season Open Studios – 2 volunteer spots – some experience required
- Friday September 11th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday September 25th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday October 9th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday October 23rd – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday November 13th – Open Volunteer Day
- Friday November 27th – Open Volunteer Day
- Saturday December 5th – Season Open Studios – 2 volunteer spots – some experience required
Hubbell Home and Studio Tours
We offer weekly docent-led tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Our tours have changed since 2025 and we now accept small groups and single parties to increase the access, offer more availably and accommodate tourism. With this new model, the volunteer support is intermittent depending on the tour guest demand. We encourage you to become a trained docent to help with these tours dates. Volunteer docent opportunities are every Saturday from April to August during the higher volume season. You won’t regret spending time in the most unique art locale in San Diego amid the beauty and tranquility of the Laguna Mountains.
Maintenance and Garden
Work with our maintenance and landscape teams as we keep the art in tip-top shape. Volunteers are needed to clean and repair artworks, mosaics, help in our organic gardens.
Archive Project
Not into physical labor? No worries, we have volunteering opportunities in the Hubbell Archive project that include data entry, photography and sorting