top5s online

I came across a tweet asking for volunteers for Tour of Alberta 2015. I'm an avid cyclist, but will admit I know little about bike racing. I did watch Tour of Alberta 2013 downtown when it was in Edmonton, and I intended to watch this year. But I'm perpetually drawn to volunteering, and am glad I clicked submit on that volunteering application because it was awesome. I had to attend a short orientation held at City Hall the week before. I signed in, got a spot, and learned a bit about the tour. I would've like to learn more about my volunteer job, but received a handbook via email right before the event that helped. I was still a bit unsure about the whole day but I'll do anything for a (florescent high-vis yellow) free t-shirt. (Also a free sandwich and snack which was a nice touch.) The most unclear part was the timing. I was given a time to sign in, but really, it was 2 full hours before the start so I just stood around for 2 hours. I get that you want all volunteer...

There are few volunteer gigs I like better than selling 50/50s in our big arena. Last year, I signed up to be a volunteer for the Northlands crew so I could sell 50/50s for the Canadian Finals Rodeo each November. As part of the crew, I get notices for volunteer opportunities throughout the year, which unfortunately due to timing and other commitments I could never participate in. But, I figured I ought to make a special effort for K-Days  in July - Edmonton's annual fair and exhibition, and Northlands biggest event. There were a number of opportunities to choose from, but I chose 3 shifts of Gate Welcome Ambassador, one at each of the 3 gates, although on one of my shifts either I got confused or the person who sent me out got confused and I ended up at the wrong gate but oh well, no harm no foul. As for all big events, I had to attend an orientation night. I got my updated volunteer ID, and a free bus ticket in case I couldn't ride my bike. It was very nice of them to offer f...

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup has come and gone. Just like last year's FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, I volunteered as a guest services team leader . This experience is right up there with the 2013 Brier , the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship , and the 2011 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship as the best sporting event volunteer experience ever! Since I had volunteered last year, the sign up process was super easy. Basically, I just said yes I'd like to come back and that was that. I was notified of a volunteer orientation evening, which was less than exciting but I did get to meet with our supervisors and got briefed on being a team leader. I also attended the accreditation/uniform pick up night. Weird, so last year my uniform was too big so I went down a size on my volunteer profile account. Turns out last year everything was unisex, but this year it was all mens/womens, which meant going down a size screwed me. I was super anxious everything was going to be...

Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity ! It's something I've always wanted to do, so when our university's faculty association put out a call to volunteer (on my birthday!) I had to sign up! The response was so good that they split up the university's volunteers: some went to the build site, and myself and another coworker from my department were with the group at the prefab shop. I was nervous about the day, but figured there was nothing better to do on my birthday than help better someone else's life so I was also really excited! It was an early wake up call, as we all met at the prefab shop (which turns out is quite near my house). They are currently building the biggest Habitat community in Canada - a 64 unit site in Edmonton's deep south. It was interesting to learn more about the organization. Families (with at least 1 child) have to apply, must meet the income range, must pay their (interest free) mortgage and put in 500 hou...

In early August, I had the opportunity to volunteer for another major sporting event - this time for FIFA! I was lucky to be able to volunteer for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, held in Edmonton, Toronto, Moncton and Montreal. I knew the event was coming, so stalked the websites and asked the Canadian Soccer Association on twitter when the volunteer application would open. I can't quite remember how far in advance I applied, a year maybe, 8 months? I was contacted by email, and then had to do a phone interview with the volunteer coordinator! Seriously, a phone interview! Following that came more emails, questions about uniform sizing, volunteer newsletters etc. There was a training evening at the end of July. Unfortunately due to bad timing, I had to miss a great night of music at Interstellar Rodeo to attend, but somehow I'd ended up being classified as a Team Leader, and figured it would be bad if I missed the training. Sigh. Anyways, training was useful and not a compl...