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Interested in becoming a volunteer at Mission San Juan Capistrano?

Please click on the link above and complete the application. We are currently accepting new volunteers beginning January 2023.

All prospective volunteers must attend the open house and required to attend training before serving on the Mission grounds. Following the open house, prospective volunteers will be required to participate in an interview with staff members as well as guest engagement training. All applicants will also be required to follow our Code of Ethics.

Thank you for your interest in joining the Mission San Juan Capistrano family of volunteers, a group of individuals committed to preserving the past for generations to come!

For questions, please contact Mariela Martinez, Executive Assistant:
Email: mmartinez@missionsjc.com
Phone: (949) 234-1312

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Have you ever wondered about those people you see around the Mission with the black hats and various red & black attire? These are our Mission San Juan Docents. Docents make California history come alive for over 50,000 school children and adults each year. If you love history, have a natural curiosity, enjoy people and like sharing with others, this may be a volunteer position for you!

The Mission Docents are comprised of individuals with a strong sense of history, a passion for remembering it, and the ability to share it with others.

Mechelle Lawrence-Adams, Executive Director of Mission San Juan Capistrano, said: “Docents have the opportunity to change a student’s perspective from one that thinks history is boring to one that views history as interesting. As I still remember my 4th grade field trip to this mission, it inspired me to care about history. Unfortunately here at the Mission, we don’t have enough docents and hope that we can attract more interesting people who want to make a difference through docent work.”

In order to become one of the Mission San Juan Capistrano Docents, individuals must participate in all four of the scheduled training classes, one-on-one training with a Docent mentor, as well as complete observations of other Docent tours. The entire process can be completed within eight weeks of the first training class.

The Mission San Juan Capistrano Docents have been in existence for 28 years. The purpose of the Docents is to educate and inform the visitors about Mission San Juan Capistrano.

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Thanks to the committed efforts of the Gardening Angels, the gardens of Mission San Juan Capistrano have undergone a remarkable transformation. When the group was formed, the Mission grounds desperately needed help. There were struggling rose bushes and dusty clumps of birds of paradise, but mostly there was bare earth. Now there are well-tended roses, perennials, herbs, succulents, flowering shrubs and hollyhocks in abundance. The grounds have become the work of passionate, skilled gardeners, offering plenty of ideas for beautiful plant combinations.

The tender loving care of the Gardening Angels played a key role in naming Mission San Juan Capistrano “The Jewel of the Missions.” Come visit the demonstration vegetable garden featuring a pumpkin patch, tomatoes, and other edible items “home grown on the grounds.”

Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence-Adams credits the Mission’s volunteer garden club, the Gardening Angels, “for making the Mission’s beautiful gardens elegant.” The 35-member club can be found on the grounds each Wednesday morning pruning, mulching, fertilizing, planting and doing whatever else is necessary to make the Mission gardens look their best for visitors. “We think of ourselves as ‘spiffers’ of the Mission gardens,” explains Jan Sorensen, Gardening Angels’ President. The group’s biggest rewards, she notes, are the many compliments the gardens have received from visitors.

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Special events volunteers help make the Mission’s events come alive. These volunteers are key to the Mission’s special events, such as the Battle of the Mariachis, Music Under the Stars, and St. Joseph’s Day. Ideal special events volunteers enjoy working both behind the scenes to help prepare for and reset after events as well as working with the Mission staff and general public during events to help ensure that the events run smoothly.

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