Becoming a Volunteer

[kiraya]

I want to volunteer but I don't think that I am old enough, I'm only 13. Is there anything that I would be able to do? and is it to late?

[Kaura117]

Kiraya, speaking as an outside observer, age doesn't seem to be too pressing an issue when it comes to volunteerism.

Hrm. Think I'll also volunteer, actually. Can't afford to go to Fanime2k6 and BC06 if I don't... >_> Whee~

[Ashley Akaihi]

How can I get in touch with whoever is in charge of Volunteers this year?

[ranma12]

im am 15 i want to help and 13 is the limit for the 13 year old girl

[Tsuchimi Rin-chan]

To all the people that are under the age of 18 that want to help and become a volunteer.  

The age minumum to volunteer is 13 Years old.

You have to either have been pre-registered or have bought a full  4 day pass paper badge to volunteer.  If you are just going for the day or two and have paid up front, Fanime's Volunteer Department will still accept people provided if there is a shortage of volunteers needed in other departments of the con.

Please bring I.D. If pre-registered.  Show some I.D. (Optional like a California I.D, Passport, Birth Certificate)  You and your Parent and or Guardian MUST sign a waiver form contract of age concent letting you (the child/minor and or teenager) have permission to work Fanime Con as a department volunteer.

We do not want any kind of trouble of lawsuits. Just kidding,

You can find the Parental Concent Forms to Work at Fanime at the Volunteer hole TBA.  

Otherwise you can click here to fill out and print the parental concent form

http://www.fanime.com/staff/fanime_waiver.pdf

Anyway just asked registration where the Vol Hole is and take it from there.

If you work the full volunteer hours the con requested you to work, 100 percent of your registration money will be refunded.  Half the hours worked then half of your registration money is refunded and so forth.

Complimentary Room and boarding will be provided to Volunteers on the first come first server basis.

Please note that Volunteering will start this year the thursday night before the convention starts so you can work very early to get your hours out of the way.  This is optional though.

I hope this helps.

[Tsuchimi Rin-chan]

Ashley Akaihi     
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:31 am    Post subject:

How can I get in touch with whoever is in charge of Volunteers this year?

Hi Ashley!

Here is the info you requested for.

The name of the guy in Charge of Fanime's Volunteer Department goes by the name of James.  

James can be reached at [email protected]  He will gladly answer all your questions that you need to know.

[Croquet]

Hi, I'm actually 19 years old, but I can't find my birth certificate anywhere and my wallet was lost, so I have no proof of my age...is it ok if I just use a parent waiver? I still live with mom and dad anyway...or I could always bring in my Jury Duty mail! Lol! That would prove I'm over 18. I'm really in quite a pickle, but would just signing the waiver take care of everything?

[slifertheskydragon]

wait- can you like, still go to panels or do you actually do nothing but work all the time?

[astroboy]

wait- can you like, still go to panels or do you actually do nothing but work all the time?

Volunteers get to enjoy a more flexible schedule compared to staff. This is not a Fanime specific rule but a general rule amongst anime cons. The reasoning is simple. If management expected the same level of commitment from both vols. and staff then nobody would sign up as a volunteer...you might as well become staff and pick up your "free" badge, saving the trouble of having to "work off" your hours as a volunteer.

Back on topic:
Does this mean that as a volunteer they'll be a 100% guarantee that ALL your work shifts will never conflict with your desired schedule? Short answer == no. There's no 100% guarantee. However volunteers have tremendous flexibility in deciding when they want to work. Volunteers are certainly not expected to work all the time. There's quite a bit of time off.  

As for managers (silly grin) they pretty much show up to work the con Not see it. But that's a different story. FanimeCon has a shortage of managers.   8)

[Cryz]

when you get to the volunteer recruiting room thing they have these binders with dates/shift times/locations so you can pick and choose when and where you want to volunteer and catch whatever panel you want =3 And if you want to be let off a *little* early, just ask the department head of the dept. you're working in.  I did dealers room for one day and the person who ran the dealers room let me off a little early so I could go to the Kamijo signing. (haha hi this is Shou from Kamijo show line control and music fest gopher girl)

and Croquet, you meet a lot of friends as a volunteer xD I'm probably going to volunteer again for 2007, I had a lot of fun =]

[Krnchichiri]

D: Mah, I'm too lazy to e-mail the volunteer e-mail, so I'll ask my question here. xD
(I'm glad that I'm over the age minimum... )

So, volunteers can volunteer at any day? Or only the whole entire weekend? Or we can skip out on our volunteering job for a few hours at a time?
(If I do have to ask someone to get off a little bit early, I don't think I'll be able to do that easily.. I'm shy. D: )

>.< Nyar. Answer, please~ I don't bite. xD
(Or at least that's what I say.)

Oh. What happens if you get weekend passes from a company and the passes are free? Will I get a refund?  :?

Ooh, paradoxical.

[Shi_Musouka]

So, volunteers can volunteer at any day? Or only the whole entire weekend? Or we can skip out on our volunteering job for a few hours at a time?
(If I do have to ask someone to get off a little bit early, I don't think I'll be able to do that easily.. I'm shy. D: )

>.< Nyar. Answer, please~ I don't bite. xD
(Or at least that's what I say.)

Oh. What happens if you get weekend passes from a company and the passes are free? Will I get a refund?  :?

Ooh, paradoxical.

It depends on what type of registration you purchase. I'd recommend the whole weekend if you bought a full weekend pass because you will need 20 hours of volunteer work to claim full reimbursement of the money paid for registration. You only need about 5 hours to get fully reimbursed for a one day pass.

You won't need to work for an entire day at the con. If you do your hours in 5 hour shifts, you should be fine, considering the fact that most people are usually awake at the con for around 15+ hours so 5 out of 15 is not a large ratio of time. That should leave you a good amount of hours left for the other events that you want to see. There's no need to skip out a few hours at a time because most of the time, you won't be on duty. You can just sign up for different hour shifts at different time periods.

Or you can try taking a day off and distribute the other 1-2 hours of work from that day into your other days, though it's a serious pain to deal with so I try to avoid it, if possible. Or just do a majority of your hours one day and take smaller shifts the next day.

If there's a certain panel or event that you want to attend, some of the staff might let you off early to go see it, as long as you make up the missed hours. I hear the volunteer department is getting tired of dealing with fan volunteers who don't bother to complete full hours and just do a little bit short off the minimum requirement, so I don't know what their policy is on that.

Hope that helped, and btw the company that purchased the weekend passes to give to you will get the refund. Registration is never free(unless you are on staff).

[Krnchichiri]

Shi_Musouka- thx muchos.

>< More questions, though.

So how is the refund refunded back? (As in physically or... credit-card-ly...>< )
Me= bad with words.

What if I want to volunteer, but I'm not out to seek the reimbursement?

[Shi_Musouka]

I believe they're supposed to mail it back several weeks(or months) after con. I dunno what form of payment though(you'll need to ask the volunteer dept about that). If you don't want the reimbursement, just let the volunteer staffers know when you sign up for a shift at the volunteer office.

[Krnchichiri]

D: I'mma just keep posting questions here... ><

I heard a rumor that volunteers got free rooming? :?

[Voiddarkness]

So it's possible to volunteer on the day before the con right?  Is there a specific place I need to go to begin volunteering the day before the con? Where exactly do you go to sign up for volunteer work within the convention?   Is it just where you also register? There will be a sign that says Volunteers right?

[Shi_Musouka]

D: I'mma just keep posting questions here... ><

I heard a rumor that volunteers got free rooming? :?

lol. Yup. It's probably a rumor. If you want free rooming, try asking a group of friends if they will pay the room expenses so that you can have a free place to sleep all through the con while they become $130 poorer to treat you like royalty.

(Haha, I kid. My sense of humor is very strange.)

As for the volunteer-the-day-before-the-con thing, I'm not sure if any departments are going to need fan volunteers on Thursday or if upper-management relocated the volunteers office this year. I say talk to [email protected] and see what they can do.

[AngelKawaii]

Well, since everyone is asking questions I will sk one too.
Randome question: how do you get on staff? O.o
Abother question: Can you not register for the con and just come volunteer. (I want to help out and I need volunteering hours.)

(I have a feling someone already asked those questions. xD)

[Krnchichiri]

I think that it might be too late to become staff (although I might be lying, but I'm pretty sure.) What you had to do was be over 18 (or was it 21) and go to all the meetings for Staffmembers. I think two or so already passed by.

You HAVE to register for the con to volunteer- its your ticket in. Volunteers typically volunteer for a few hours a day, not the whole day. They need you to buy the ticket because who knows if you're going to ditch and enjoy the con?

Yah. >.>

[AngelKawaii]

Thanx. I already got it figured out.