The Great EsSkate - Volunteer Village
It takes a village to put together a Great EsSkate.
You can be part of the Great EsSkate Volunteer Village. Scroll down to
2010 Volunteer Needs
It takes a village to put together a Great EsSkate.
It takes people who, months in advance, plan and coordinate and schedule and meet and ask for money and get permits and drive-bike-skate routes and then do it again. It takes people who sign up, show up, do an amazing job in chaotic surroundings and quietly disappear when their stint is over. And it takes others who don't plan and meet ahead of time, don't sign up and show up, but just quietly do what needs to be done: do a good deed, lend a hand, see a need and say yes.
This is to the village of GES volunteers. As the volunteer coordinator, I actually signed some of you up, met you, worked with you, even thanked you personally. But I didn't meet or thank or even know about many of. All I can do is thank you now, belatedly, and invite your helpful, thoughtful, tireless, friendly selves back to the Great EsSkate 2010. We can't do it without you.
Without you, who would make sure there was endless water and bananas whenever we needed it? Who would sit at long tables for long hours to greet skaters, answer their questions and get them through registration - then remember their names next time you see them? Who would check wristbands and stuff goodie bags?
Who would organize 300 identical T-shirts? Who would open his office so we could get some last-minute copying done? Who would cheerfully wear silly hats and sell raffle tickets when everyone else was drinking/eating/socializing? Who would eat lunch out of the back of a pickup in order to be ready to work when someone gave the high sign?
You manned the demo skates and gave people a chance to try out the big wheels. You woke up early to register people Saturday morning while everyone else grabbed 40 more winks. You became a truck driver when we needed a truck driver. You skipped a skate so you could lend moral support to those who worked behind the scenes.
You decorated, you DJ'd, you drew dozens to your amazing Deco skate. You skated up front, you skated at the end, you skated the full length of the line (more than once), you shouted till you were hoarse, you herded skaters, you herded skate patrollers! You worried about food and tents and tables and chairs. You found venues when we were suddenly venue-less. When something didn't work out as planned, you punted (and it worked).
You kept things going when everyone around you said this year would be different, this year no one would come. You wrote press releases and created Web sites and took photos and called the media and designed flyers so that all roads led to the Great EsSkate. You captured us in photos and video so the story of this amazing event can be told, viewed, savored.
You shared your expertise - one more time - after six or seven or eight GESs, even though you were burned out and ready to hand it to someone new. You started our mornings with the calm strength and warm stretches of yoga on the beach. You showed the way to a novice skater, offering a pointer, or a hand, or a class.
You drove a car or a van or a truck so you'd be there if needed, and needed you were. You emptied vehicles and hauled boxes, then hauled them a few more times, then loaded them in and out of elevators, and then piled them all back into vehicles (and that was just Day One).
You made people laugh. You made people T-shirts. You helped clean up. You helped sum up. You offered a perspective that was badly needed. You did what needed to be done, without being asked - even when no one knew it.
How can we thank you? Just know that we know. And that as we put together another Great EsSkate, you're the village we want behind us.
Candice H. Richard
2009 Volunteer Coordinator
Copyright Great EsSkate 2009
2010 Volunteer Needs
Read below for a list of all that needs to be done to keep the Great EsSkate rolling. Contact candicehrichard@bellsouth.net to sign up as a 2010 volunteer. Tell her who you are, how to contact you and how you'd like to help.
Your Name
Are you a skater?
Where are you coming from?
Home phone
Cell phone during event
e-mail address
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday 6:00 - 9:00 P.M. hotel dining room to plan on-site, fill goodie bags, count and organize T-shirts, set up tables, anything that can be done before the event. Organizers plus four volunteers.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday 7:30 - 11:30 A.M.
Setup: Whatever has to be done to get ready for registration. Organizers plus five to ten volunteers
Friday Registration
Noon - 7:00 P.M.
Requires two to three volunteers, who need to work for three to four hours and then be replaced with fresh volunteers. Need non-skaters 5:30-7:00 so others can skate the first skate. Organizers plus six to seven volunteers.
Friday Registration Cashier
Noon - 7:00 P.M.
Organizers plus two volunteers to cover 3 1/2 hours each.
Demo skates (if applicable in 2010)
Friday Noon - 7:00 P.M.
Need someone to help people try on skates and keep track of drivers' licenses and returned skates. Organizer plus 1 volunteer.
Merchandising (if applicable in 2010)
Noon - 7:00 P.M.
Pricing, sizing, displaying, rearranging, selling, making change and using the credit card machine. Organizer plus 3 volunteers, one of whom would be cashier.
Friday Art Deco Skate
1:00 - 3:30 P.M.
Al needs another skater and at least 1 NSP. It's not a taxing skate, but if it's a big crowd, Al needs additional help. 2 skater volunteers, 1 NSP
Friday Raffle Sales
Noon - 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. - 10:30 P.M.
At least one person with tickets and change and an idea of what the raffle prizes are, with personality and a funny hat, walking up to people to convince them that now's the best time to buy. Someone else has to dole out tickets, take in cash and keep track of it all. Organizers plus 5 volunteers staggered through the afternoon and evening in 1-hour shifts is optimal.
Friday Clean-Up
Registration area must be cleaned up, organized for Saturday morning registration.
First Friday Skate
6:30 - 8:30 P.M.
NSP Organizer plus NSP volunteers
Water Truck
Friday morning pick-up and loading
Organizer plus 1 strong non-skater volunteer with a clean driving record.
Water Truck First-Friday Skate
6:30 - 8:30 P.M.
Get to designated water stops in time to open up the truck and be ready with water, bananas, cookies, whatever has been donated, when the skaters get there. Driver and 1 volunteer.
First-Friday Skate
Sag Wagon
6:30 - 8:30 P.M.
A car and local driver who follow the skaters and can pick up someone who is tired, injured, etc. The car needs to be able to handle 5-6 people comfortably. The driver needs to be familiar with Miami Beach, including the way to the emergency room. Non-skating driver plus 1 volunteer
Friday Dinner
Servers
5:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Non-skating volunteers help set up dining space, serve food, check wristbands and keep lines moving. When 300 starving and tired people show up all at once for a free meal, they need to know what to do to get fed and be reassured that there is enough food for all. Organizer plus 3-5 non-skating volunteers.
Late-Night Skate
11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
NSP Organizer plus NSP volunteers
Water Truck Late Friday
11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
The designated truck drivers go to the designated water stops. Driver plus 1 non-skater volunteer.
Friday Second Skate
Sag Wagon
11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
A car and local driver who follow the skaters and can pick up someone who is tired, injured, etc. The car needs to be able to handle 5-6 people comfortably. The driver needs to be familiar with Miami Beach, including the way to the emergency room. Non-skating driver plus 1 volunteer
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday Registration
7:30 A.M. - 8:30 A.M.
An early riser (can be a skater, because registration is over when the Saturday skate starts) to register latecomers. 1-2 volunteers who worked registration on Friday.
Saturday Yoga
7:30 A.M.
We need an organizer and a yoga teacher willing to donate his or her services for 30 minutes Saturday and Sunday. Organizer plus yoga professional.
Saturday Merchandise (if applicable in 2010)
12:30 - 3:30 P.M.
Pricing, sizing, displaying, rearranging, selling, making change and using the credit card machine, only it is all moved to Lummus Park for the picnic. Organizer plus 3 volunteers, one of whom would be cashier.
Saturday Picnic and Setup
9 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
Setting up tables, assisting caterer with whatever is needed to feed 300 people at 12:30 p.m. Organizer plus 2 volunteers
Saturday Skate
9 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
NSP Organizer plus NSP volunteers
Saturday Water Truck
9:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
The designated truck driver goes to the designated water stops. Driver plus 1 non-skater volunteer
Saturday Raffle Ticket Sales
12:30 - 1:30 P.M.
People with silly hats, no clothes, whatever, to walk through the lounging crowd at the picnic and urge them to buy their tickets. Last chance. Any prizes not given away Friday night at dinner are given away at the picnic. These people are pushed to the front of the food line so they can sell tickets during everyone's lunch. Organizer plus 5 volunteers.
8 PAL Explorer Kids
Wonderful picnic helpers who keep out people without wristbands, keep an eye on everything and help with clean up. Explorer facilitator plus the kids he or she brings.
Saturday Cashier
12:30 - 2:30 P.M.
Keeps track of raffle money. 1 volunteer.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday Yoga
7:30 A.M.
Organizer plus yoga professional.
Sunday Morning Skate
9:30 - 11:30 A.M.
NSP organizer plus NSP volunteers
Sunday Merchandise Sales (if applicable in 2010)
9:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Non-skating organizer plus 2 volunteers to sell as people pass through the lobby on their way to skate, airport, etc.
Sunday Morning Skate
Sag Wagon
9:30 - 11:30 A.M.
A car and local driver who follow the skaters and can pick up someone who is tired, injured, etc. The car needs to be able to handle 5-6 people comfortably. The driver needs to be familiar with Miami Beach, including the way to the emergency room. Non-skating driver plus 1 volunteer
Sunday Morning Skate
Water Truck
9:30 - 11:30 A.M.
The designated truck driver goes to the designated water stops. Driver plus 1 non-skater volunteer
Sunday Art Deco Skate
9:30 A.M. - Noon
Al needs another skater and at least 1 NSP. 2 skater volunteers, 1 NSP
Sunday Afternoon Skate
4:00 - 5:30 P.M.
NSP organizer plus NSP volunteers
Sunday Afternoon Skate
Sag Wagon
4:00 - 5:30 P.M.
A car and local driver who follow the skaters and can pick up someone who is tired, injured, etc. The car needs to be able to handle 5-6 people comfortably. The driver needs to be familiar with Miami Beach, including the way to the emergency room. Non-skating driver plus one volunteer.
Sunday Afternoon Skate
Water Truck
4:00 - 5:30 P.M.
The designated truck driver goes to the designated water stops. Driver plus 1 non-skater volunteer.
Sunday Cleanup
5:30 - 6:30 P.M.
Everything that was brought it must be packed into vehicles and taken away. All trash must be disposed of. Organizer plus three volunteers.
Dinner with anyone still standing.