Become a Folklife Volunteer!
What kinds of things would I do as a volunteer?
    There are lots of easy things you can do to help!  The most common type of volunteering jobs are centered around K'zoo Folklife's concerts and events.  These tasks include:
1. Tables & chairs: set up/tear down. Most of our concerts are held in open halls that require rows of chairs to be set up in front of the stage and tables with chairs set up near the back of the room for those who prefer to sit at a table with their refreshements.  This is a simply task.....a good place to start for new volunteers!
2. Ticket and Merchandise Sales.  This task entails sitting at a table near the entrance to the concert hall with 2 or 3 other volunteers selling tickets to the concerts and sometimes memberships to K'zoo Folklife Organization.  The performing musicians usually have CDs, tapes, T-shirts and other merchandise for sale, so you'll be responsible for selling them.  This is a good job if you enjoy working with money, or you're good with math!
3.  Kitchen. It's a wonderful tradition at K'zoo Folklife concerts to have homemade refreshments available. With this task you'd work with a kitchen crew of about 3 other people to bake brownies, make popcorn, prepare juices, coffee, and tea, and set out condiments and napkins on a table, and then sell the prepared refreshments to our concert patrons at intermission.  Near the end of the concert, you'll need to clean up the kitchen and put away all supplies before leaving.  This is a good job if you prefer a slightly lower profile task, enjoy baking, you're good at handling money, if you enjoy greeting and serving people, or if you love to nibble fresh baked brownies!
4.  Sound System & Technical set up.  During this task you'll work with about 3-5 other people under the very able guidance of our Sound Coordinator, Loring Janes.  As part of this team, you'll move the folding stage into place and set it up, set up microphones, hook up speakers, set the stages lights, run wires, test the microphones, and much more.  It requires a fair amount of ladder climbing and some heavy lifting, but there are also some other chores within this task that don't require such physical skills. This is a good job to try if you enjoy technical things and you don't mind some heavy lifting and pushing tasks.
5.  Announcer.  The announcer is the person who first stands up on stage to open the evening and introduce the band...a kind of Master/Mistress of Ceremony.  Here you'll work with the band to find out what kinds of things they'd like announced on their behalf;  their next performance, CDs for sale, the names of the band members, the history of the band, etc. You'll make announcements about other upcoming K'zoo Folklife events and concerts too.  You'll make announcements that will ensure a pleasant and comfortable evening for the concert patrons,  like pointing out where the restrooms are, announcing the "no smoking" policy, reminding the audience about the delicous brownies, hot coffee, juices, etc. that are available at the refreshment counter. This is a good job if you enjoy meeting new people, you're not shy, and you're comfortable standing up in front of a large crowd, speaking into a microphone with grace and control.
6.  Person in charge. We really need help here!  This is an important job....not too difficult, but you really need some experience and skill with all the other volunteer jobs first, and then be trained with a role model as an apprentice in order to fully understand K'zoo Folklife's established system of procedures before going solo. Some of your duties will be to arrive early enough to check to see that all jobs are filled with volunteers, trouble-shoot, supervise, train new volunteers, work with the ticket sales volunteers and kitchen coordinator to be sure their accounting sheet is accurate, ready, and balances out at the end of the evening,  greet and assist the performing band members as they arrive, write out the check to pay the band, fill in and help where ever needed.  This job is good if you enjoy working with others in a supervisory position, are able to remain calm and controlled when several people are asking for your guidance, you're good with math & money, have good trouble shooting skills, and most of all....you're accomodating, flexible, friendly and open to suggestions!
O.K...I can do that, but what do I get in return?
  One nice benefit is that you get to attend the concert of your choice for free (with certain rare exceptions)!  But there's more benefits than just saving money. It's fun to work "behind the scenes" with friendly and nice people in order to help produce a K'zoo Folklife concert of the music you love to hear! You might even learn some new skills which can add to your sense of accomplish-ment. By being involved, you'll meet new friends and be a part of the folk music scene in Kalamazoo! The volunteers often stop somewhere for coffee and good conversation after the concert, too!  Sounds fun, doesn't it?
Yes!  It sounds good!   How do I sign up?
The best way to begin is to first attend one of the concerts.  There you'll find a ring-folder called The Volunteer Book. Inside this book you'll see a separate sign-up sheet for each of the upcoming concerts in the K'zoo Folklife concert series.  Leaf through The Volunteer Book and choose one or more concerts which you would like to attend, and then simply sign up for one of the jobs that are available.  Then, mark your calendar and plan to come to the concert that night 2 hours before the concert's start time, and also plan to stay about one half hour after it's over to complete your volunteer work obligation. Please be sure that you are able to fulfill your obligation, because it's difficult to find others to fill your job if you decide not to work at the last minute!
Are there any volunteer jobs not directly connected to concerts?
   Sure! With a bit of experience and a current membership you could run for seat on the board of directors, or one of the special committees during the annual April election.  But if that's too much of an obligation, don't worry...there are lots of potential special projects, for example; Creating artistic banners to decorate the concert hall, assisting the upkeep of the mailing list, delivering "posters" to businesses to display in their windows, or if you own a business you could display information about K'zoo Folklife in your store, creating a series of picture albums with pictures of artists and members taken over Folklife's 30-year exsistance, creating and catagorizing a folk music library, writing a grant for funding assistance, become a workshop leader at the annual Hootenanny, or you could even think of your own special project that would benefit K'zoo Folklife, and present it to the board for discussion and potential approval!
Volunteers are the heartbeat of our non-profit organization! 
Please consider becoming a member of K'zoo Folklife!
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