We've got a really busy summer programme of exciting events coming up and we need just 2 hours of your help to make them fun and engaging to an even wider community of people. Read on to find out how you can get involved...
Are you the kind of person who enjoys an activity even more if you are helping out and part of a great team? Do you like getting a glimpse behind the scenes at an event? Do you like what we do and want to help us engage even more people in the community food revolution? Or do you simply want a free bit of cake for a couple of hours volunteering?! If the answer to any of these questions is yes then get in touch!
Upcoming events that we are looking for volunteers for are:
- Saturday 21st May - Woodbank's incredible insects
- Sunday 12th June - Open Farm Sunday - this is a larger busier event, so the more the merrier!
- Saturday 30th July - Soil and Compost Discovery Day
The days run from 10am to 4pm, which we are splitting into 3 shifts per role 10am-12pm, 12pm-2pm, 2pm-4pm - feel free to sign up for one, or more shifts, whatever you think you're capable of!
Volunteering roles:
There are 5 main volunteer roles for each event (and you are very welcome to do a couple of different roles to have a more varied day):
1) Refreshment Stall - We would like people to sign up to help on the refreshment stall on the day. This will involve serving the food to the visitors and taking payments. We will be offering a self-serve drinks table where visitors just pay for the cup (so you won't have to run around making teas and coffees!).
2) Welcome gate - Friendly faces who can welcome our visitors by providing all the necessary information (eg if there are workshops that still have space etc.), as well as encourage passers by to come in and check out the event.
3) Family activities - We will be offering a free family activity at our themed events. These are fairly self-led (and a parent or guardian will stay with their child), but it's good to have someone there to make sure they're ok and be around for a chat. So if you are up for that, then this is the role for you! The activities for the above three events will be:
- At Woodbank's incredible insects day (on Saturday 21st May) - we will be offering the space, materials and instructions to make a DIY Bug mug (bug hotels made in repurposed mugs).
- At Open Farm Sunday (on Sunday 12th June) - there will be an Organic farming treasure hunt and an activity to plant a pumpkin in a pot.
- At Soil and Compost Discovery Day (Saturday 30th July) - we will be offering Wonderful worm themed activities
4) Floater - The most glamorous role! Providing support where it is most needed i.e. helping with any of the above roles when it gets busy or covering while people have toilet/food breaks etc.
5) Food preparation - this will be before the day - We will be serving a variety of food on our refreshment stall at each event. Soup has gone down well in the past but we'd like to experiment with serving some cold savoury bits too - e.g. homemade vegan sausage rolls, vegan vegetable tarts, savoury scones etc. If you think you'd like to provide something like that let me know! And we are always looking for 2 or 3 people to make cakes for each event!
How to sign up
To sign up to any (or all!) of these wonderful events please respond to this email as soon as possible! I'll then send a rota out a few days before the event so you know what to expect.
A BIG THANK YOU!!
As a thank you for your time you will be provided with delicious food and drinks from our refreshment stall on the day that you're helping!
THANK YOU in advance for all your hard work and commitment to helping keep kindling going. We couldn't do it all without our wonderful volunteers! I'm thinking of celebrating volunteer pizza night later in the summer once we have our cob oven built!
Finally there is lots going on this year, so we will be back in touch, but so you don't miss out here are some future dates for your diary:
- Saturday 27th August - Surplus Produce Day (different agenda, separate email coming)
- Saturday 24th September - Harvest Day
- Saturday 15th October - Woodbank Wildlife Day
- Saturday 22nd October - Apple Day
- Saturday 12 November - Tree Day
How to sign up
To volunteer for any (or all!) of these wonderful events please email Naomi on community@kindling.org.uk - Naomi will then be in touch to arrange time to chat with you about your interests and experience and the events and activities to make sure that we can match you up to the perfect role for you.
