The Volunteering thread 2019

[ameski18]

Is anyone here volunteering / working for Refresh West? I just wondered if someone could give me a heads up on what to expect?! 

How do we get our tickets for entry?

Where do we park?

What are the shifts like?

Any thing really?  

[parsonjack]

16 hours ago, jmarmer said:

Does anyone fit this bill ?

Glasto obsessive, knows the site inside out, physically fit, mature, reasonable, assertive, diplomatic, calm, clear thinker, team player, willing to take responsibility, utterly reliable under stress, committed to making everyone's festival a little bit better, available Tues - Mon, able to meet in Mid Somerset in the next few days.

If you want to make the switch to volunteering this could be your chance, it is absolutely NOT a free ticket. Please think carefully before pm me as I don't want to waste anyone's time.

3x8 hour shifts 1 of which will be a night shift.

Looking for just 1 person or more?

[jmarmer]

14 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

Looking for just 1 person or more?

Just 1 I'm afraid

[Funkyfairy!]

16 minutes ago, jmarmer said:

Just 1 I'm afraid

Not for me , but providing the person does the shifts etc, is there a ticket available? Your post doesn;t make that clear and says 'not a free ticket' . but I presume by asking that you need some assistance and you have a workers/volunterr ticket available for that person ?

[Giraffe Man]

19 hours ago, pie_and_a_pint said:

Recycling Crew - has anyone had their letter yet? 

I'm getting slightly nervous because we keep getting post delivered for a similar address that isn't us, and I'm guessing they're getting my post.... 

Not yet but no need to panic if you have had the email confirmation. Early June it said. 

[jmarmer]

51 minutes ago, Funkyfairy! said:

Not for me , but providing the person does the shifts etc, is there a ticket available? Your post doesn;t make that clear and says 'not a free ticket' . but I presume by asking that you need some assistance and you have a workers/volunterr ticket available for that person ?

Apologies I thought I'd made that clear, yes one opportunity available for someone who fits the criteria fully and who wants to make a contribution to the festival. This role is not about 'doing shifts' , applicants need to be aware that there is no hiding place on this one. If you just want a way in I would respectfully suggest you stick to the competitions. Happy to answer more questions in private.

[stuie]

25 minutes ago, jmarmer said:

Apologies I thought I'd made that clear, yes one opportunity available for someone who fits the criteria fully and who wants to make a contribution to the festival. This role is not about 'doing shifts' , applicants need to be aware that there is no hiding place on this one. If you just want a way in I would respectfully suggest you stick to the competitions. Happy to answer more questions in private.

Sounds a bit dodgy really...

Either it's paid work or it's a trade of work in exchange for access to the festival.

And if it's not dodgy why can't you answer the questions in public?

 

[jmarmer]

4 minutes ago, stuie said:

Sounds a bit dodgy really...

Either it's paid work or it's a trade of work in exchange for access to the festival.

And if it's not dodgy why can't you answer the questions in public?

 

It's quite simple really, it's a volunteer role for someone who fits the criteria I outlined. I don't want to turn it into a free for all so prefer to discuss in private. I want someone who wants the role for it's own sake not just for an easy way in.

[tarw]

6 minutes ago, stuie said:

Sounds a bit dodgy really...

Either it's paid work or it's a trade of work in exchange for access to the festival.

And if it's not dodgy why can't you answer the questions in public?

 

doesn’t sound dodgy to me. Just like a job advert asking for certain skills. And when you express an interest you get the full job description. 

[Funkyfairy!]

1 hour ago, jmarmer said:

Apologies I thought I'd made that clear, yes one opportunity available for someone who fits the criteria fully and who wants to make a contribution to the festival. This role is not about 'doing shifts' , applicants need to be aware that there is no hiding place on this one. If you just want a way in I would respectfully suggest you stick to the competitions. Happy to answer more questions in private.

Sorry you say 'not about doing shifts' but your original post said 3 times 8 hour shifts including one overnight  - I totally understand that you want someone with a certain skillset which is all good, but at this late stage when someone doesn;t know you from 'Adam', you are in effect asking for a volunteer with skillsets to do 3 shifts - which is super

I hope you get someone you want, that fulfuls what you are looking for and they do their 3 shifts as you stated for a way into the festival

 

 

[franathy]

58 minutes ago, tarw said:

 

doesn’t sound dodgy to me. Just like a job advert asking for certain skills. And when you express an interest you get the full job description. 

Yes but a job advert will tell you what the job is at the very least! People volunteer primarily to get into the festival; that doesn't mean to say they won't work hard whilst they are volunteering. If the poster wants more than that then in my opinion it should be a paid role, in which case working obviously comes first - with catching some of the festival as a bonus. Jmarmer you ask for someone 'Glasto obsessed' but then word it like the person isn't allowed to have fun and enjoy the festival. I guess you didn't mean that but it's how it comes across. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by franathy

[parsonjack]

1 hour ago, jmarmer said:

applicants need to be aware that there is no hiding place on this one.

It's for a Michael Eavis double isn't it? 

[tarw]

1 hour ago, franathy said:

Yes but a job advert will tell you what the job is at the very least! People volunteer primarily to get into the festival; that doesn't mean to say they won't work hard whilst they are volunteering. If the poster wants more than that then in my opinion it should be a paid role, in which case working obviously comes first - with catching some of the festival as a bonus. Jmarmer you ask for someone 'Glasto obsessed' but then word it like the person isn't allowed to have fun and enjoy the festival. I guess you didn't mean that but it's how it comes across. 

Everyone is different. I volunteered this year because I wanted to see a different side to the festival. I was on a waiting list and had actually got a ticket in October. When I was told that I had a volunteering place I put my paid ticket back in the pot. I am not volunteering just to get into the festival. 

I don’t know jmarmer and have no more idea what the volunteering role is than you. I just thought it was harsh to call it dodgy. 

 

No no skin off my nose and no axe to grind here. I won’t say any more. I’m not looking for an argument 

[Billy_Blagg]

Does anybody have experience of Oxfam volunteer tickets?

A friend did not get tickets in the sale/resale, but has a Steward place. 

They have suggested that they may not fulfil their full three shifts (maybe doing 1-2/3?) and would be more than willing to forfeit the ticket deposit (which I think was about £300ish) as a charity donation to cover them getting in to the festival.

Obviously this is A Very Bad Thing, the festival depends on these volunteers for it to function. And them missing a shift will put extra pressure on other volunteers ; but do they make allowances for this when planning numbers? 

But.....

What will actually happen if they miss a shift? Will they be barred from all future Glastonbury festivals,  or just from further volunteering places.  Is it as simple as them taking off their high-vis vest and shrinking in to the crowd. If they have parked /are camped in the volunteer field and have missed a shift, will someone find them? If a Team Leader spots them after they have missed a shift will they be unceremoniously thrown over the fence out of the festival? 

I will obviously try and encourage them to do the full 3 shifts,  but it would be good to give them some actual facts /experience of the risks.

Discretion is important,  so please PM me if you don't want to post publicly. 

Thanks 

[rawrsomesauce]

5 minutes ago, Billy_Blagg said:

Does anybody have experience of Oxfam volunteer tickets?

A friend did not get tickets in the sale/resale, but has a Steward place. 

They have suggested that they may not fulfil their full three shifts (maybe doing 1-2/3?) and would be more than willing to forfeit the ticket deposit (which I think was about £300ish) as a charity donation to cover them getting in to the festival.

Obviously this is A Very Bad Thing, the festival depends on these volunteers for it to function. And them missing a shift will put extra pressure on other volunteers ; but do they make allowances for this when planning numbers? 

But.....

What will actually happen if they miss a shift? Will they be barred from all future Glastonbury festivals,  or just from further volunteering places.  Is it as simple as them taking off their high-vis vest and shrinking in to the crowd. If they have parked /are camped in the volunteer field and have missed a shift, will someone find them? If a Team Leader spots them after they have missed a shift will they be unceremoniously thrown over the fence out of the festival? 

I will obviously try and encourage them to do the full 3 shifts,  but it would be good to give them some actual facts /experience of the risks.

Discretion is important,  so please PM me if you don't want to post publicly. 

Thanks 

A friend of mine volunteered in 2017 and whilst she did all her shifts, she left staff camping to come camp with us and was swiftly removed from site. Security descended fairly quickly once they were aware. 

My understanding is you need to comply with all conditions (so all shifts & staff camping) otherwise you'll be removed and potentially banned from volunteering in the future. 

[incident]

3 minutes ago, Billy_Blagg said:

What will actually happen if they miss a shift? Will they be barred from all future Glastonbury festivals,  or just from further volunteering places.  Is it as simple as them taking off their high-vis vest and shrinking in to the crowd. If they have parked /are camped in the volunteer field and have missed a shift, will someone find them? If a Team Leader spots them after they have missed a shift will they be unceremoniously thrown over the fence out of the festival?

If they disappear, then their photo will be put on an AWOL list circulated to appropriate people - security, etc. If they are caught, their wristband will be cut and they'll be removed from site. I'm not comfortable giving any more specifics (and I probably only know some of it) other than to say the search does go well beyond just wristband checked gates. I don't know what the recapture rate is each year - it's not 100%, but it's not 0% either.

In terms of the future - they'll permanently be on the Oxfam blacklist, which in turn puts them on the Glastonbury workers blacklist. It doesn't carry over to public ticket sales but they won't be able to pull the same stunt twice. Not sure about if/how it'll affect other festivals.

Not a cool thing to do, and comes with both an immediate risk and potential future implications if they find themselves ticketless in the future.

[Billy_Blagg]

2 minutes ago, rawrsomesauce said:

A friend of mine volunteered in 2017 and whilst she did all her shifts, she left staff camping to come camp with us and was swiftly removed from site. Security descended fairly quickly once they were aware. 

My understanding is you need to comply with all conditions (so all shifts & staff camping) otherwise you'll be removed and potentially banned from volunteering in the future. 

If they did leave Staff Camping and joined us in the general camping area, not sure how Security would find them? I'm not sure I'd even notice someone extra in my tent,  never mind security noticing.  

Do they log against a list every time that they leave the staff camping to work / watch something? 

[Doug85]

Depends on who the volunteering work is with in regards to whether people can camp in public camping, recycling are allowed to join public camping but only from the wednesday onwards. Oxfam is definitely different.

From my understanding I was told if there was a legitimate reason that you miss a shift then arrangements can be made but people who actually go AWOL are blacklisted for all future festivals, I have heard of scenarios where this has stretched into public sales too. 

Needless to say photo and ID details are sent to security who will actively be on the lookout for said persons. If caught then they are immediately removed from site without even having access to their belongings. 

I can't say strongly enough that it's just not worth it. Plus it's a proper dick move

[incident]

1 minute ago, Doug85 said:

Plus it's a proper dick move

It is.

It's a dick move for the organisation, in this case charity, who will find it more difficult to fulfil their contracted roles.

It's a dick move for the people who you would have been working with, as the area they're in will be understaffed.

It's a dick move for the people on shift before you, as there'll be a delay standing them down while cover is arranged.

It's a dick move for the person who's sat at home and would happily work for a ticket, and there's still a few of those on the resale thread.

It's a dick move for the festival, as it's just more headache they don't need.

And if enough people do it, it's potentially a huge dick move for the customers as well - if enough people fail to show up at 6am Wednesday, then the gates can't open until it's sorted.

[Doug85]

Yep so in summary this "friend" is a dick if they decide to go AWOL regardless

Totally against the spirit of the festival. 

[Stave_1974]

Well I for one are really looking forward to volunteering this year and will certainly be completing all my allocated shifts, whatever they may be.

Don't understand why people would even consider not doing what is only proper and right, for the festival at least.

Uneducated idiots....

[barcelonista1899]

9 minutes ago, incident said:

It is.

It's a dick move for the organisation, in this case charity, who will find it more difficult to fulfil their contracted roles.

It's a dick move for the people who you would have been working with, as the area they're in will be understaffed.

It's a dick move for the people on shift before you, as there'll be a delay standing them down while cover is arranged.

It's a dick move for the person who's sat at home and would happily work for a ticket, and there's still a few of those on the resale thread.

It's a dick move for the festival, as it's just more headache they don't need.

And if enough people do it, it's potentially a huge dick move for the customers as well - if enough people fail to show up at 6am Wednesday, then the gates can't open until it's sorted.

This.

If all the people working for oxfam this who failed to get tickets did this, then it would risk the festival going ahead.

Not to mention fucking over charity...

 

 

 

[Billy_Blagg]

Excellent. Just the sort of thing that I was looking for. Thank you for the responses.... I'll definitely pass them on. 

 

[gooner1990]

I'm working via Shelter for Avalon this year, we are in an allocated field with refreshments tent and showers etc.  

Not sure why you'd be that bothered to go and camp elsewhere once your shifts are done - just for the one or two nights?!

Just go over to your friends camp to say hello when you're not working which is what I'll be doing when time permits! 

 

[stuie]

15 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I'm working via Shelter for Avalon this year, we are in an allocated field with refreshments tent and showers etc.  

Not sure why you'd be that bothered to go and camp elsewhere once your shifts are done - just for the one or two nights?!

Just go over to your friends camp to say hello when you're not working which is what I'll be doing when time permits! 

 

One of my lot has space in their tent in main camping so whilst I'll be based in Oxfam with my stuff, I don't see the harm in crashing there if it happens but I wouldn't go and set up camp elsewhere.