Being mostly lazy, greedy and skint, volunteering is not something I do
that often. Volunteering for stuff in Perveworld is a slightly different
matter, as "volunteer" usually translates as "free admission"
and sometimes even as "free admission, sexual favours and a drink
pressed on you by a grateful organiser" though not all of the latter
bit happens nearly enough for my taste. Having said that though, the whole
of the fetish scene, both political and recreational, runs on willing
unpaid labour, so if you're wondering how to raise your profile, acquire
new friends (and enemies) and generally Make The World a Better Place,
here's how to be a cool volunteer. Firstly, show up when you said you
would, and if you are struck down by public transport, erupting haemorrhoids
or an unexpected visit from the in-laws, ring the person in charge of
volunteers and let them know. As a sort of correlation to that, if you
arrive to find that whoever's in charge has pessimistically but pragmatically
booked more bodies than are immediately needed, sort yourself out a shift
doing whatever needs doing, sod off out of the way and come back when
you're supposed to. It's always a good idea to bring something to read
if you're likely to get stuck with cloakroom duty on a warm night, and
it's also a very good idea to clarify what, if anything you need to bring
with you - ie, if DJ-ing, you will need to bring some CDs but it's worth
checking whether the venue has a set of decks or whether you're supposed
to possess your own.
If you're a person in charge of volunteers, always try to book more than
you actually need, but if they all turn up, don't let half fuck off into
the night as half of those won't come back when needed. Give the flaky,
unreliable ones the first shift of work if they've actually appeared,
because if you tell them to pop back later they won't. Explain to volunteers
before the event exactly what you want them to do and add in what they'll
get out of it, bearing in mind that free entry is not that big a thrill
if one has to spend the whole of the event wielding a clipboard or book
of cloakroom tickets unless being an officious little twat is actually
one's acknowledged fetish. If people are working in shifts, try to check
up after each supposed changeover that it's actually occurred, as people
on later shifts tend to get tipsy/chatted up/bored or otherwise lose track
of time so some poor sod always ends up working a double shift. This always
happens to the most sincere and well-meaning person who will then metamorphose
into someone who never stops whining about how unappreciated they are
all over internet discussion boards.
Frankly, if you can afford to pay people to do stuff, that's often the
best possible option.
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