For a number of years we have tapped into the Twin Cities gardening community for volunteers. In return for volunteering for four hours they get to shop our pre-sale, which has proven to be a great enticement. Today, many of our volunteers have no association with the school other than they enjoy our plant sale.
As our need for volunteers has grown (doubling in the last decade) we’ve come to realize we need more middle management at the sale. We have volunteer shifts starting as early as 6:30 in the morning and running as late as 10:00 in the evening. Managing 1900+ volunteers over the 10 days of the sale is an enormous task. We need more coordinators and shift leaders – people who can help orient and take responsibility for a team of volunteers.
Where We Need Your Help
We are looking for a number of volunteers to serve in leadership roles at the sale. There are a lot of opportunities here varying in commitment level from 6 hours to a few days or more.
We need:
- Shift Leaders – folks who supervise a few shifts of general volunteers. Shift Leaders generally work six-hour shifts, rather than the four-hour shifts general volunteers work. Shift Leaders will meet and greet teams of volunteers at the Volunteer Tent when they report for their shift. They set volunteers up with any necessary materials, orient them to their roles, get them to where they will be working, and check in on them over their four shifts.
- Coordinators – folks who “own” an area or aspect of the sale. Some of these roles require a large commitment (attending multiple planning meetings throughout the school year on top of lots of time on the ground) while others require somebody who can be present during the sale week for 2-3 days. The most sustainable strategy we’ve found is to recruit teams of coordinators. In this way two or three coordinators can share the load over the course of the plant sale. So – if you’re interested – grab a friend or two. Coordinators work in partnership with Shift Leaders. The Coordinators are ultimately responsible for an area of the sale, but don’t need to be present 24/7 if Shift Leaders have things covered. We do want Coordinators to meet with and orient the Shift Leaders, but as long as things are running smoothly they can walk away.
A Few Examples
- Welcome Ambassadors – we need both shift leaders as well as a team of coordinators. These folks are the first volunteers our customers encounter as they walk up to the sale. The Welcome Ambassadors answer questions, orient customers, and direct them to wherever they need to go. FSMN family members would be GREAT in this role since you know the sale AND can talk about the school at the same time! (Approximate commitment of coordinators – available to join a handful of Zoom meetings prior to the sale and then coverage during Th – Sun sale hours.)
- Plant Parking – we need both shift leaders as well as a team of coordinators. These folks manage a small area inside the sale where customers can park their shopping carts while they continue to shop with a second cart. (Approximate commitment of coordinators – coverage during Th – Sun sale hours.)
- Curbside Helpers – we are looking for a coordinator to join our existing team of 3-4 coordinators. Curbside Helpers watch over customers’ plants as they get their vehicles and bring them back to the curbside area, help load plants into customers’ vehicles, and return carts to the sale area. (Approximate commitment of coordinators – ability to join a handful of Zoom meetings annually and then coverage during Th – Sun sale hours to be shared with our existing team of coordinators.)
- Accessibility – we are looking for one or two coordinators for this aspect of the sale. This has been an on-going consideration for the plant sale committee for years, but we just recently decided to add a team of coordinators. We’ve done a lot of work considering the sale experience through an accessibility lens, but know there is more work to be done. Right now we are looking for coordinators to manage a small team of volunteers who will be available to assist customers. (Approximate commitment of coordinators – ability to join a handful of Zoom meetings annually and then coverage during Th-Sun sale hours.)
In addition to these – we’re looking for shift leaders to help with construction, customer parking guides, and East End wayfinders.
