Tag Archives: call for volunteers

Official Announcements, WisCon 43

Volunteering Roundup for WisCon 43!

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WISCON IS NEXT WEEK!! Where does the time go? That’s a question that’s probably unanswerable, but we have one we can answer: Who makes WisCon happen? Answer: YOU! <3

We can’t have a convention without you there, and we have an even better convention with a little help from you. If you volunteer at least six hours total and fill out one of the blue volunteering forms you can find at the registration desk, you are eligible for up to a 40% rebate on your membership, if you choose. And if you volunteer less than six hours, you’ll still be eligible for our volunteer gift, available for pickup from the Registration Desk beginning Monday morning. Come join us! J O I N U S S S S.

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Questions? Email personnel@sf3.org and we’ll be thrilled to answer them.

Make First Contact at Registration!
We have a variety of times and duties available beginning Thursday evening, and running throughout the convention. If you’ve never helped out with Registration (or just want a refresher), we will offer group training Thursday afternoon, and individual training as needed before shifts. If you have experience with registration, or are simply willing to take on a bit more responsibility, you can also sign up for a shift as a Table Manager. Table Managers handle all sales, and also are the first point of contact for any complications or inquiries from online orders. Visit https://signup.com/go/xRrpoFp to grab some shifts!

Bake Sale Needs Bakers & Volunteers
Our sale of tasty treats to benefit Tiptree will be on Friday during the Gathering! If you like to bake, now’s a great time to check out our guidelines and plan your recipes. We’re also looking for volunteers to help serve our delicious, member-made delicacies. Sign up and get your volunteer hours out of the way early in the con!

Blue Tape Volunteers Needed!
WisCon’s Access department is looking for Blue Tape volunteers. We have several shifts open throughout the con to tape and re-tape marked seating in convention spaces. The job may require bending down on hands and knees to tape floors, ability to lift and move chairs and tables (with help), and social flexibility and patience when working around hotel staff as they set up.To sign up for a shift, please visit https://signup.com/go/eDwuPQH or email SarahTops at access@wiscon.net.

Con Suite Needs YOU!
We know that WisCon’s Con Suite is a crucial part of making the con affordable, accessible, and low stress, but making it happen takes people. Can you help? We need folks for food prep tasks (including some you can do sitting down), setup & breakdown shifts that happen before or after the rest of the con, meal service, and, of course, cleanup. Many hands make light work, as they say, so come be a Con Suite hero! See what volunteer shifts are available here: https://signup.com/go/LCshkGa If you have any questions about volunteering in the Con Suite, please email us at consuite@wiscon.net.

Do You Like to Work with Kids?
Kids’ Programming needs volunteers during all daytime programming hours. You might be assisting with materials for a craft activity, building Lego or jigsaw puzzles with the kids who don’t want to do the main activity, or firmly redirecting the energies of a kid who doesn’t want to do the main activity and is trying to have a swordfight in that space instead. Choose the activity you would like to assist with at https://signup.com/go/PrtYSkg

Help Out with the Art Show
The Art Show needs people to set up on Thurs-Fri, to staff the sales desk on Sat-Mon, and to tear down on Monday. If you haven’t worked in the Art Show before, we’ll show you what to do! Check out the available shifts and sign up at https://signup.com/go/CxcQjqT

Swap, Swap, the Clothing Swap!
Our Clothing Swap is back this year on Friday during the Gathering, and we’re in search of people who can:

  • Help hang, sort, and set out clothes 11am-1pm (help for twenty minutes or the whole time!)
  • People who can help keep things organized between 1-4pm (help for twenty minutes or the whole time!)
  • People who can bag any leftover clothing for donation starting at 4pm (this needs to get done so we can use the room for programs, so we’d be very grateful if you can help until the task is complete!)

Please email personnel@sf3.org if you can commit some time to help us out.

Make Someone’s First WisCon a Friendly One!
Every year, we help to orient new folks to WisCon by assembling groups of people to venture forth from the hotel to go out to dinner together. We need people to lead those groups! The only qualifications are that you’ve been to WisCon at least once before, and you’re interested in meeting new people. You can choose a restaurant ahead of time, and we can suggest a few for a variety of budgets and preferences if you like — and you can even take a group to dinner at the Con Suite if your budget doesn’t stretch to dining out. Contact access@wiscon.net or personnel@sf3.org to let us know that you’re interested, and we’ll tell you more! P.S. Leading a group for the First Dinner counts for three hours toward a volunteer rebate and qualifies you for this year’s volunteering gift!

Get Your Gaming On
WisCon is looking for volunteers to help run open gaming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, from 8 pm-12 am. Responsibilities mostly revolve around WisCon’s game library; getting it out at the beginning of the night, putting it away at the end of the night, and making sure none of it wanders away in between. In addition, volunteers will play games and help make the open gaming space welcoming and enjoyable! Please email gaming@wiscon.net if you are interested in helping out in this way. Even just a couple of hours would help a lot!

Hosts Needed for the Trans/GQ/GNC Safer Space
Trans/GQ/GNC safer space needs hosts so we can stay open through the convention. We’re asking for people to consider doing one or two ninety-minute shifts. Contact tgqsaferspace@wiscon.net for more information.

Make a High-Visibility Fashion Statement Volunteering with Safety!
You’ve probably seen Safety volunteers in past years, because we do our best to make them hard to miss. They walk around the convention spaces carrying a binder while wearing an eye-catching (and stylish) high-visibility neon vest. It’s a great way to meet new folks and to see the whole convention — a Safety shift means you’ll move around the con, dipping in and out of parties, events, panels, workshops, readings… You’ll be asked to be observant, to listen respectfully to folks for whom the convention or other people have created stress, anxiety, or anger, to hand out taxi vouchers, to point out the restrooms, and to contact the appropriate person if you discover a problem that can’t be solved with a quick chat. Safety welcomes folks who use mobility devices, or who can only make time in their schedule (or spoons budget) for a single shift.

Sign up now to let us know when you are available to lend a hand by visiting this form: https://signup.com/go/wBOZNSs

Official Announcements, WisCon 43

WisCon Kids’ Programming Needs You!

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This year, WisCon Kids’ Programming is trying a new approach. Kids’
Program activities have their own track in the Panel Signup. For more information on how to sign up for panels, check out this post on our blog.

We’re hoping to get different people to volunteer for each hour of Kids’ Programming, to enrich the activities we can offer our kids, and to share the work so that Kids’ Program volunteers get time to enjoy
WisCon themselves.

WisCon is full of people who have learned how to do a few cool things! Some of you would enjoy the opportunity to teach one of those things to an interested group of kids. Kids’ Programs can offer you an hour and fifteen minutes, a small group of kids (6-11 years old), an adult assistant, and whatever materials our small budget can cover. Sign up for Panel Programming, in the Kids’ Programs track, and send email to kidsprograms@wiscon.net with questions or a description of what you’d like to do.

If you don’t want to run an activity, you can be the second adult in
the room. In this role, you have to be flexible. You might be
assisting with materials for a craft activity, or building Legos or
jigsaw puzzles with the kids who don’t want to do the main activity,
or firmly redirecting the energies of a kid who doesn’t want to do the
main activity and is trying to have a swordfight in that space
instead. To volunteer for this role, sign up for a panel in Panel
Programming, in the Kids’ Programs track, but don’t click the button
that says you volunteer to moderate this panel.

If you want to do more to help create a welcoming space for kids at
WisCon, consider joining the Kids’ Programming Team on ConCom. Share the work and the decision-making that make WisCon happen!

Volunteering at WisCon entitles you to the Volunteer Gift.
Volunteering for six hours entitles you to a rebate of part of your
membership fee.

If you have any questions, email kidsprograms@wiscon.net.

Official Announcements, WisCon 42

WisCon 42 Volunteer Opportunities

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Here we are again, and it’s already April! We have a few more volunteering opportunities, in the hope that getting you this information early will help you to plan your time at the convention.

First up: Help with Gaming!

WisCon is looking for volunteers to help run open gaming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, from 8 pm-12 am. Responsibilities would mostly revolve around WisCon’s game library; getting it out at the beginning of the night, putting it away at the end of the night, and making sure none of it wanders away in between. In addition, volunteers will play games and help make the open gaming space welcoming and enjoyable! Please email gaming@wiscon.net if you are interested in helping out in this way. Even just a couple of hours would help a lot!

Make a High-Visibility Fashion Statement Volunteering with Safety! 

You’ve probably seen Safety volunteers in past years, because we do our best to make them hard to miss. They walk around the convention spaces carrying a binder while wearing an eye-catching (and stylish) high-visibility neon vest.

That could be you this year! It’s a great way to meet new folks and to see the whole convention — a Safety shift means you’ll move around the con, dipping in and out of parties, events, panels, workshops, readings… You’ll be asked to be observant, to listen respectfully to folks for whom the convention or other people have created stress, anxiety, or anger, to hand out taxi vouchers, to point out the restrooms, and to contact the appropriate person if you discover a problem that can’t be solved with a quick chat.

Volunteering for one or more Safety shifts is perfect if you enjoy helping people, and it can be satisfying to be able to help with the little things quickly: you’re the mobile person who can help out volunteers that have to stay at their posts like Art Show and Registration, who carries useful supplies, and who has a sympathetic ear. Safety welcomes folks who use mobility devices, or who can only make time in their schedule (or spoons budget) for a single shift.

Sign up now to let us know when you are available to lend a hand by visiting this form: https://goo.gl/forms/kjLIbNfc2CJncdQn2

Bakesale!

The James Tiptree, Jr Literary Award, an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender, was established at WisCon in 1991.We’ve held a bakesale to benefit the award at WisCon ever since.

Volunteering at the Bakesale is relatively easy and a lot of fun! You’ll help portion out the baked goods donated by WisCon members, make sure that allergen information is clearly displayed, and sell them. Best of all, Bakesale volunteer shifts come in convenient one-hour segments, so they are easy to fit into your day.

Sign up now to let us know when you are available to lend a hand by visiting this form: https://goo.gl/forms/NOnUcxSM6zfZQawo1

Kids’ Programs!

We’ve got some amazing and fun things planned for our Kids’ Programs this year, and we could use your help. These programs are for the 6-12 year olds who come to WisCon, and we’ll be doing crafts, building things, talking about books and movies, having experiments, visiting the pool…all sorts of stuff. We just need a few more people who are older than 12 to help make sure things go smoothly so that everyone can have a good time. That might mean that we ask you to help pick up Lego from the floor, or that you lead a parade of children on a field trip to the Art Show, or that you hand out fruit snacks, or that you get to pour the vinegar into a baking soda volcano. Or all of the above!

There are times available all through the day when you can potentially volunteer, and the time slots are each 90 minutes long, and exactly the same as the regular (teen and adult) panel schedule, so they’re really easy to fit into your day.

Let us know when you’d like to help by using this form: https://goo.gl/forms/EIwHp0kR8IvIr4Ff2
The Blue Tape Crew Needs YOU!
Want to help make WisCon more accessible? Are you an adhesion enthusiast? Perhaps you just like the color blue? WisCon’s Blue Tape Crew is looking for people who are available throughout the convention to set up and maintain accessibility features, such as blue tape markings for priority seating and wheelchair parking in panel rooms. Morning people or those operating on Eastern Standard Time are especially needed for early shifts! If you’re ready to Access-orize, please fill out our form linked here, or email access@wiscon.net. Want to learn more about Accessibility at Wiscon? Click here!
Official Announcements, WisCon 42

Important Updates to the TipTree Bake Sale (Plus Volunteer Info!)

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We have a big change this year: The Bake Sale will be on FRIDAY from 1-5pm in room 627. (Same place, new day & time!)

If you’d like to contribute treats to the Bake Sale, here’s what you need to know:

  • DO bring a single batch or pan of whatever treat you’re making. If you want to make more than one type of treat, that’s fine, but we don’t want large batches of any one item.
  • DON’T bring a treat that requires refrigeration. This is a food safety issue: Non-perishable treats only, please!
  • DO cut up brownies or bar cookies ahead of time.
  • DON’T bring a store-bought treat. We really want the Bake Sale to be mainly items that we’ve made in our own kitchens to raise money for the Tiptree Award. (If you’re traveling from out-of-town or your before-Con baking time is running short, perhaps consider volunteering during the Bake Sale instead!)
  • DO bring your treats in a disposable plate or container, covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap if the container doesn’t have a lid. (If you absolutely can’t bring a disposable container, label your container with your name AND Con phone number.)
  • DO bring a list of ingredients for each treat you bring. WisCon has many members with food constraints, and we want as many people as possible to enjoy tasty baked goods! When making your list of ingredients, be particularly aware of the following allergens: wheat/gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, tree nuts, peanuts. The more information you can provide, the better!
  • DO follow basic food safety guidelines when preparing and handling food items: baking in a clean kitchen; hand-washing before touching baked goods or containers; storing in a cool, dry place; etc.
  • DO NOT BAKE if you or anyone in your household (including kids) is sick (especially with stomach- or digestive-related ailments, or with a viral infection). We will still love you, and will happily eat, er…, sell whatever you bring next year.

Dropping off your treats: Please bring your treats to Darrah in University A (AKA “The Green Room”, on the second floor, through the double doors near the elevator lobby) during the following times:

  • Thursday: 3pm-5pm, 7pm-10pm
  • Friday: 8am-12 noon

Please make every effort to drop off your treat during those hours; it’s more difficult for us to accept items once the Bake Sale is underway.

What should I make? Make whatever YOU like! Every year we see cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, fudge, and so much more. We love to see a huge variety of goodies come across the table, especially colorful or unusual items. (Chocolate treats are always popular!)

THANK YOU to everyone who’s willing to contribute treats for our Bake Sale! If you have other questions about baking, don’t hesitate to contact us at bakesale@wiscon.net .

Volunteering at the Bake Sale

In addition to bakers, we’re looking for volunteers to staff the Bake Sale for 1-hour shifts from 12:30pm to 5:30pm on FRIDAY (during & after the Gathering). Any time volunteering entitles you to our volunteer gift — ask about it at the Registration Desk. Six hours or more of volunteering entitles you to a 40% rebate on your WisCon membership; to claim this, ask for a volunteer rebate form at the Registration Desk.

If you’re interested in volunteering, please complete our Bake Sale Volunteer Form, and the Bake Sale team will follow up with you.

Questions? Contact us at bakesale@wiscon.net.

Official Announcements

Call for Con Suite Volunteers

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It’s March already, and we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of planning WisCon. We’ve heard that people would like the opportunity to plan their volunteering early, so that they can make the most of their time at WisCon, so we’re sending you a form for volunteering in the Con Suite now!

The Con Suite takes MANY MANY people MANY MANY hours to create a good space with great food for everyone who needs it — either in order to afford to attend, or to make a hectic schedule of fun times work, or both. In order to make that happen, historically a few volunteers wind up spending their entire convention trapped in the Con Suite.

We don’t want that to happen, ever again.

In order to stop that happening, we want to try to have people work no more than 6 hours in the Con Suite over the course of the convention. (Just enough to qualify for the volunteer rebate, if you opt for it!) That means we need MORE VOLUNTEERS to work FEWER HOURS. 🙂 Please sign up! Without volunteers, we can’t keep the Con Suite open.

Please use this form to tell us what you’d be comfortable doing in the Con Suite, how you’d prefer to do it, and when you’d be available: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJ6j11IQkNjCxJnPNwB3FJ9okEpJVND2hey4N227oyiOPPPA/viewform

THIS FORM DOES NOT COMMIT YOU TO ANY SHIFTS. It just tells us when you could potentially volunteer. We will reach out to you to confirm and make final assignments.

There are lots of ways to volunteer in the Con Suite! Early in the morning, late at night, just on Thursday, one or two hours every day, Monday only…

Thank you for being willing to help out, and we’ll see you in May. <3

WisCon 42

Join the Communications Team!

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Hi! I’m Levi, chair of the Communications Committee. We keep the information flowing—before con, we make sure eCubes go out, blog posts get updated and social media comments get responded to. We also publish the printed materials that allow members to get around at WisCon. I’ve been on the team for three years now. Volunteering for WisCon has brought me interesting challenges, daily small joys (and occasional frustrations!) and given me the opportunity to make friends with and work with truly excellent people. It has also given me fantastic skills and experience that helped me land my dream job in July – no, really!

If you enjoy writing, graphic design, social media, advertising, or video editing, we would love to have you join the team! All the work can be done from your own home, and most positions require just an hour or two a week. Like all WisCon positions over 20 hours annually, Communications Committee members are eligible for the WisCon membership rebate, as well as volunteer gifts! Please email personnel@sf3.org with questions or to express interest.

Positions available:

  • Social media volunteer

What you’ll do: Work with our chair to keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter, and other outward facing accounts, posting posts and answering questions, being positive, professional, and awesome. Forward questions to chairs or departments. Make sure things like deadlines are advertised. These can be checked on one or twice a day!

Time commitment: 1-2 hours/week

  • Blog post writer

What you’ll do: Work with other departments to get their words out there on the WisCon blog! If you like to write, edit, and work collaboratively, and you work well to deadlines, this is a great job for you. You’ll also get to learn more about the moving parts of WisCon and meet some of the folks who make it happen!

Time commitment: Project-based. Each blog post may take 3-5 hours of writing, collaborating, and editing.

  • Print publications

What you’ll do: Do you love creating in InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop? We’re looking for someone to take over making our printing happen. We need someone to make and design our postcard-sized mailings and dessert tickets, and update designs from previous year’s cons. Additionally, you’ll need to work with our designer to finalize the Souvenir Program Book, work with printers to make sure printed items are to-spec and ready to go, etc.

Time commitment: 1–2 hours/week December-March, 5-10 hours/week in April

  • Advertising coordinator

What you’ll do: We sell sponsorship and advertising space in our Souvenir Program Book and would love someone with a knack for sales to take on this project. Advertising is a very concrete way you can help make WisCon a success, because the proceeds help us keep WisCon affordable! Our con chairs and committee chair can help produce a rate sheet, the SF3 treasurer takes care of billing, and the actual advertisements go on to our designer, so you’ll just need to go out and get them!

Time commitment: 1-2 hours/week, September through April

  • Video Archivist:

What you’ll do: Do you have some spare time now that the Festivids deadline is past? We’re looking for someone with awesome video editing skills to help us preserve WisCon history! We are in the process of digitizing video tapes of convention material—mostly Guest of Honor speeches from WisCons past. We have a bunch already digitally stored and waiting to be edited, polished, and uploaded to YouTube.

Time commitment: Flexible