Volunteering 2023

[Snoop Cat]

34 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

Yeah we moved from Oxfam to recycling many moons ago after one interminable gate shift too many where you didnt do anything at all. Horses for courses isnt it.

Hi there, 

I’m volunteering with Oxfam is anybody able to advise what the different types of roles are. I assume from Kate’s post it can be just standing by a gate in the middle of nowhere but assume it may also include more interesting jobs?

 

also I am most likely still going to be trying in the resale for a GA ticket, does the resale normally fall before the cut off to give back your volunteering place without forfeiting all of your deposit?

thank you! 

 

[Leyrulion]

17 minutes ago, Snoop Cat said:

Hi there, 

I’m volunteering with Oxfam is anybody able to advise what the different types of roles are. I assume from Kate’s post it can be just standing by a gate in the middle of nowhere but assume it may also include more interesting jobs?

 

also I am most likely still going to be trying in the resale for a GA ticket, does the resale normally fall before the cut off to give back your volunteering place without forfeiting all of your deposit?

thank you! 

 

We discussed it a few pages back, resale should be before the Oxfam deadline but it isn't guaranteed. 

Oxfam roles afaik are predominantly on the gates checking tickets, dealing with pass outs etc. You might also get a vehicle point as well which is checking the vehicle has the right pass. There's also checking passes for entry to the Oxfam field itself. 

I think that's 95% of the roles at Glastonbury for Oxfam. Usual caveat that this was last year, they could always be asked to do something different this year.

[Martin Ashford]

Just now, Snoop Cat said:

Hi there, 

I’m volunteering with Oxfam is anybody able to advise what the different types of roles are. I assume from Kate’s post it can be just standing by a gate in the middle of nowhere but assume it may also include more interesting jobs?

 

also I am most likely still going to be trying in the resale for a GA ticket, does the resale normally fall before the cut off to give back your volunteering place without forfeiting all of your deposit?

thank you! 

 

Last year there were 2,700 Oxfam volunteers on site - this includes stewards (the vast majority), campaigners and shop workers. Yes, that's enough people to feel like a decent sized festival. Oxfam's main roles are administering the pedestrian gate entrances into the main site but we also have lots of stewards on the vehicle gates too. Sadly, unlike festivals like Download, Womad and Boomtown, we do not work around the stages. The Ped gates are extremely important to GFL for security and Licensing reasons so they stick to the best in the market - Oxfam. Each Ped gate shift will have a HUGE team of stewards and several Supervisors. They check all the wristbands, tickets (and photos), issue passouts and effectively let you in and out through the Superfence. The gates run 24 hours a day. No, we don't normally issue wristbands ( though my tiny team on Sticklynch Gate did this last year). We are HIGHLY TRUSTED. If you are a first time steward there is every chance you will be on a Pedestrian gate.

[bexj]

A friend used to volunteer for Festaff a few years  ago and worked the wristbanding.  I see they are advertising again, what sort of roles do they do these days?  Tbh i prefer the sound of supporting a charity but sometimes needs must... 

[Leyrulion]

27 minutes ago, Martin Ashford said:

Last year there were 2,700 Oxfam volunteers on site - this includes stewards (the vast majority), campaigners and shop workers. Yes, that's enough people to feel like a decent sized festival. Oxfam's main roles are administering the pedestrian gate entrances into the main site but we also have lots of stewards on the vehicle gates too. Sadly, unlike festivals like Download, Womad and Boomtown, we do not work around the stages. The Ped gates are extremely important to GFL for security and Licensing reasons so they stick to the best in the market - Oxfam. Each Ped gate shift will have a HUGE team of stewards and several Supervisors. They check all the wristbands, tickets (and photos), issue passouts and effectively let you in and out through the Superfence. The gates run 24 hours a day. No, we don't normally issue wristbands ( though my tiny team on Sticklynch Gate did this last year). We are HIGHLY TRUSTED. If you are a first time steward there is every chance you will be on a Pedestrian gate.

On that note shop and campaigner applications open tomorrow! 

I've updated to mark general steward as restricted application now, because you have to be fast. Also showing shop steward as restricted because it's really quite a lot of hoops to jump through to get there with Oxfam.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Mp4ZMpJcffuwNSJBKKnEmfsdttyl0-kmpOHcPWVRD5E/

No more info on green Peace as yet.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Leyrulion

[Snoop Cat]

1 hour ago, Martin Ashford said:

Last year there were 2,700 Oxfam volunteers on site - this includes stewards (the vast majority), campaigners and shop workers. Yes, that's enough people to feel like a decent sized festival. Oxfam's main roles are administering the pedestrian gate entrances into the main site but we also have lots of stewards on the vehicle gates too. Sadly, unlike festivals like Download, Womad and Boomtown, we do not work around the stages. The Ped gates are extremely important to GFL for security and Licensing reasons so they stick to the best in the market - Oxfam. Each Ped gate shift will have a HUGE team of stewards and several Supervisors. They check all the wristbands, tickets (and photos), issue passouts and effectively let you in and out through the Superfence. The gates run 24 hours a day. No, we don't normally issue wristbands ( though my tiny team on Sticklynch Gate did this last year). We are HIGHLY TRUSTED. If you are a first time steward there is every chance you will be on a Pedestrian gate.

Thanks for this - much appreciated!

apologies if my original post came across as flippant - I fully appreciate the steward roles are important and need committed people. I have had a fabulous time at all festivals I have attended and that is in no small part down to the excellent organisation and lovely volunteers you meet who ensure you have a great, safe time. Rest assured I am fully committed to ensuring i do the role justice! 

[Snoop Cat]

2 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

We discussed it a few pages back, resale should be before the Oxfam deadline but it isn't guaranteed. 

Thanks for this. 
 

sorry I probably should’ve checked for this info earlier in the thread! 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Snoop Cat

[mazola]

27 minutes ago, Snoop Cat said:

Thanks for this - much appreciated!

apologies if my original post came across as flippant - I fully appreciate the steward roles are important and need committed people. I have had a fabulous time at all festivals I have attended and that is in no small part down to the excellent organisation and lovely volunteers you meet who ensure you have a great, safe time. Rest assured I am fully committed to ensuring i do the role justice! 

Didn't come across flippant at all. For what it's worth it was my first time last year, I ended up on a vehicle gate. Two shifts on a busy gate on the west side, and once on the gate up to camp Kerala. 

Pedestrian gate would be much more preferable in my opinion. At least the people you are letting in are punters who are happy to be there, I mainly had trade and security coming through, 90% of who saw me as an inconvenient pain in the arse.

[Aragorn]

20 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

Looks like my sons ticket will be going back in the resale pot as he has got a recycling place. Woo hoo! 

 

was he on the priority list for 2023 or did he apply for the first time with a recommendation?

[giantkatestacks]

5 minutes ago, Aragorn said:

 

was he on the priority list for 2023 or did he apply for the first time with a recommendation?

The latter. With a charity.

[4519dennis]

16 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

It's odd because a lot of people on here really love shelter, I'm sure many of their volunteers would find the idea of Oxfam pretty dull!

For me it came down to personal preference. Working behind the bars is hard work and after a shift I was knackered. However, I took the view that I'd rather be engaging with punters behind a bar and the time would also pass quicker relative to sitting next to a gate somewhere in a field on the periphery of the festival. So I'm happy to do the same again this year having failed in General Sale.

[Aragorn]

35 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

The latter. With a charity.

ta - I applied via a veterans recommendation direct with Recycling Crew so wondered if they were sending out confirms.  Sounds like not yet though as yours was through a charity

[mazola]

Oxfam campaign and shop spaces are live!

 

[stuie]

Festival campaigning and shop applications open at 10:30am today!

Campaigning 

Festival campaigning offers a fun and creative way to engage festivalgoers with Oxfam’s campaign messaging. Meet people from all walks of life, share your passion for issues that matter to you and help make real change. Plus, you’ll have evenings off to enjoy the festival and catch some live acts!

How to apply?

When applications open this morning, select the festival/s you’d like to campaign at and pay your refundable deposit. To complete your application, we also ask for a 300-word summary and a short video to demonstrate why you would make a great campaigner!

Shop volunteering

If you have volunteered at an Oxfam shop for 3 months or more, you could join us as we take our shops on the road. Engage with customers, keep the shops running and switch out stock to match the weather. There’s never a dull moment at an Oxfam festival shop!

How to apply?

Once applications open, you will be able to select the festival/s you’d like to volunteer at and add your Oxfam shop manager as a reference in your profile.

For more information on the roles and how to apply, visit our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3IVur7w

[abiwish]

54 minutes ago, 4519dennis said:

For me it came down to personal preference. Working behind the bars is hard work and after a shift I was knackered. However, I took the view that I'd rather be engaging with punters behind a bar and the time would also pass quicker relative to sitting next to a gate somewhere in a field on the periphery of the festival. So I'm happy to do the same again this year having failed in General Sale.

Yeh this is a tricky one, have to say I struggled with the tediousness of Oxfam shifts last year, but Shelter does sound like it would interfere more with seeing acts... 

[abiwish]

17 minutes ago, mazola said:

Oxfam campaign and shop spaces are live!

 

which is making monitoring for steward spaces a bit trickier 😂

[mazola]

1 minute ago, abiwish said:

which is making monitoring for steward spaces a bit trickier 😂

I know, got all excited for a minute

[Greenelk]

3 minutes ago, abiwish said:

which is making monitoring for steward spaces a bit trickier 😂

Yep, they need to get those filled quickly so we can all go back to jumping whenever the list changes!

[Greenelk]

1 hour ago, 4519dennis said:

For me it came down to personal preference. Working behind the bars is hard work and after a shift I was knackered. However, I took the view that I'd rather be engaging with punters behind a bar and the time would also pass quicker relative to sitting next to a gate somewhere in a field on the periphery of the festival. So I'm happy to do the same again this year having failed in General Sale.

I really don't mind working behind a bar, for me it really is the camping spot and coaches that are my main issue.  I've hit 50, I don't think I could survive a whole week without sleep! 

[abiwish]

4 minutes ago, mazola said:

I know, got all excited for a minute

haha same 😂 heart was racing

[leath02]

Just now, abiwish said:

haha same 😂 heart was racing

you got a page tracker set up?

I've taken it upon myself to monitor on behalf of one of my best mates, determined to get her to the farm

[rogerroger34]

 

1 minute ago, leath02 said:

you got a page tracker set up?

I've taken it upon myself to monitor on behalf of one of my best mates, determined to get her to the farm

I do to good success yesterday (Shambala for a pal). Now however it seems ruined by this new set up.

Anyone tempted by/used the distill.io paid version as it can check via macro?

[abiwish]

1 minute ago, leath02 said:

you got a page tracker set up?

I've taken it upon myself to monitor on behalf of one of my best mates, determined to get her to the farm

Yeh using Distill Chrome Extension, works well and very easy to set up. Do recommend it but it only works when you're on your laptop, so if last year is anything to go by, I think it's going to be tricky for awhile to get one with it, as presume there's lots of people on their laptops in the day, getting the notifications and racing for one spot at a time... last year I got mine by just randomly checking it late at night! 

[faymondo]

5 minutes ago, abiwish said:

haha same 😂 heart was racing

Yep my heart went for a bit as well 🤣

[leath02]

Just now, abiwish said:

Yeh using Distill Chrome Extension, works well and very easy to set up. Do recommend it but it only works when you're on your laptop, so if last year is anything to go by, I think it's going to be tricky for awhile to get one with it, as presume there's lots of people on their laptops in the day, getting the notifications and racing for one spot at a time... last year I got mine by just randomly checking it late at night! 

Yeah I remember keeping track of your efforts last year

Think I'll maybe set up Distill for my pal after resale if we dont get her in then

Good luck!