Volunteering 2025

[marathonsteve]

On 04/04/2025 at 19:38, MrZigster said:

 

Quite.

 

Don't mind being outside the site really (well, the noise...). Bringing my car is the only reasonable adjustment I need. I have coronary heart disease and carrying heavy stuff a long way is inadvisable. I can bring my sack trolley with my car but they are understandably not allowed on the coach. Used to be able to do it without my car (just) but, as noted on here numerous times, they just kept moving the goalposts in such a way as to make the increased distances involved a bit too much of a challenge for me.

 

I did enquire in my application this year whether there was any chance of getting into the long term stay staff car park right next to the campsite this year. I worked and camped with plenty of people with no noticeable disabilities who were parked there last year. I would have been happy with just general parking though.

 

I always kind of used to get why GFL didn't want volunteers bringing cars. Not wanting hundreds more cars on site etc..., but then they managed to increase the capacity by 7.5k so I think that kind of negated that argument.

 

On 19th March I emailed Avalon and asked about whether they had been allocated any parking spots for this year yet. No answer forthcoming, and so, with lose your whole deposit deadline day looming, felt I had no choice but to email again on 27th and regretfully withdraw unless they could guarantee me one.  No reply to that either.

 

Then, strangely enough, about two minutes after enquiring in this thread about getting no reply to emails (and on a Saturday evening no less), I get an email stating, no we haven't been allocated any parking passes (yet) and we don't want to give you the run around so will refund your deposit.

 

Of course I immediately emailed back asking if there was anyway to be kept on the list just in case they did get allocated some, and then immediately emailed again as an afterthought that, hang on, couldn't I just buy a parking pass on the gate? I have still had no response to those replies.

 

Then on 1st April I opened my banking app to check whether work had paid me (as you do) and spotted that they have refunded my deposit. On April Fools day no less. Guess I'm the fool and should have just kept my mouth shut and waited to see whether they get allocated any parking passes (at the risk of losing my entire deposit of course).

 

Pissed off is an understatement. This just seems so unreasonable. For a start I don't understand why the "lose your entire deposit" deadline is before anyone else is even asked to stump up for their ticket.

 

I've helped them put on the show five times previously.

 

Apologies for the rant. Sure you can understand just how frustrated I am by this.

I am not happy about the way you have been treated by Avalon. I would take this much much much further if they don't reconsider what they have to you done after many years loyal service. They have a Duty of care towards you as well.

[StoneCircle]

10 hours ago, Crazyfool01 said:

All posts containing personal insults have been removed ... this thread is about Volunteering ... would appreciate it if people could stick with that thanks

 

 

10 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

I'm curious as to why the figures Glastonbury provided to the council in their planning application showing a 3k increase since 2019 are different from what you received from them. 

 

5 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

This was a genuine question btw. 😭

 

 

@Leyrulion See the first quote I made in this post Please can you stick to discussing Volunteering. Thanks 😊 

[Leyrulion]

37 minutes ago, StoneCircle said:

 

 

 

 

 

@Leyrulion See the first quote I made in this post Please can you stick to discussing Volunteering. Thanks 😊 

Ok. 

I'm Curious to know if the difference between the 3k figure and the 5k could be because they took on an extra 2,000 volunteers. I know Oxfam expanded the number of places available after the pandemic.

 

[MrZigster]

18 hours ago, marathonsteve said:

I am not happy about the way you have been treated by Avalon. I would take this much much much further if they don't reconsider what they have to you done after many years loyal service. They have a Duty of care towards you as well.

 

Thanks.

 

I've still had no reply to my emails suggesting possible workarounds. It's been over a week now.

 

Emailed help @ glastonburyfestivals dot co dot uk yesterday to ask about their views on said reasonable adjustment and why no parking passes for Avalon when other volunteer organisations seem to get them.

 

Also one to a possible higher up at Avalon.

 

Heard nothing back yet.

 

Beginning to feel like I've been excommunicated for needing a reasonable adjustment.

 

It's not looking good is it.

 

Not sure what else I can do.

 

 

[stuie]

2 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

 

Thanks.

 

I've still had no reply to my emails suggesting possible workarounds. It's been over a week now.

 

Emailed help @ glastonburyfestivals dot co dot uk yesterday to ask about their views on said reasonable adjustment and why no parking passes for Avalon when other volunteer organisations seem to get them.

 

Also one to a possible higher up at Avalon.

 

Heard nothing back yet.

 

Beginning to feel like I've been excommunicated for needing a reasonable adjustment.

 

It's not looking good is it.

 

Not sure what else I can do.

 

 

 

 

Persevere! I'm sure if you shout loud enough, someone will have to respond.  

I may be out of touch but I would try forwarding a copy of your email to office@glastonbury... they used to be quite responsive. 

 

Maybe consider Oxfam as a back up option?  Not that you should have to! 

[MrZigster]

6 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

 

Persevere! I'm sure if you shout loud enough, someone will have to respond.  

I may be out of touch but I would try forwarding a copy of your email to office@glastonbury... they used to be quite responsive. 

 

Maybe consider Oxfam as a back up option?  Not that you should have to! 

 

Thanks for that. Will try office@... tomorrow evening if I've heard nothing by then.

 

I've just joined the waiting list for My Cause. Not really my type of job tbh. No experience at that type of thing.

 

I thought you needed to have done previous or other festivals to qualify for Oxfam.

[kerplunk]

18 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

 

I thought you needed to have done previous or other festivals to qualify for Oxfam.

 

No, after the priority phase places as they come up are available to anyone - just need to be registered (and be quick to pounce).

[MrZigster]

What sort of a faff is that PAAM application thing.

 

Already had one for Avalon and My Cause are using the same and I try to log into The My Cause one and my phone automatically puts in my Avalon password.

 

Login failed...

 

And yet another organisation with no email contact. Only Facebook, Insta, Tik Tok etc...

 

God I hate modern tech.

 

Think I've sorted it but like I said, what a faff. They don't seem have considered you might have used PAAM for other organisations.

 

Please tell me Oxfam don't use it as well.

Edited April 9, 2025 by MrZigster

[StoneCircle]

1 hour ago, MrZigster said:

What sort of a faff is that PAAM application thing.

 

Please tell me Oxfam don't use it as well.

 

Oxfam don't use Pamm, you do need to create an account though. Here is a link to their festivals, there is a link to account on the page.

 

https://festivals.oxfam.org.uk/this-years-festivals/

 

🧚🏻🪄

[MrZigster]

Thanks @StoneCircle

 

PAAM still mucking me about. Seems I have to reset my password every time I want to login with My Cause.

Edited April 9, 2025 by MrZigster

[incident]

6 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

Thanks @StoneCircle

 

PAAM still mucking me about. Seems I have to reset my password every time I want to login with My Cause.

Your browser probably just has the wrong version saved.

 

Retype it manually each time you login, overwriting the saved one, and it should be ok.

[MrZigster]

3 hours ago, incident said:

Your browser probably just has the wrong version saved.

 

Retype it manually each time you login, overwriting the saved one, and it should be ok.

 

Tried all sorts, including that. 

 

I may hate modern tech but I try not to let it beat me.

[Afterlife]

12 hours ago, MrZigster said:

 

Tried all sorts, including that. 

 

I may hate modern tech but I try not to let it beat me.

Try log in with your browser in incognito mode. Should let you do it then.

[nowayin]

Does anyone know what grounds My Cause use to accept / reject people. Very annoying after taking £380 from my account. Why not just allow deposits for the amount of spaces available? 

 

Edited April 10, 2025 by nowayin

[stuie]

33 minutes ago, nowayin said:

Does anyone know what grounds My Cause use to accept / reject people. Very annoying after taking £380 from my account. Why not just allow deposits for the amount of spaces available? 

 

Sorry for your bad news... I think they choose people who've worked for them before first and then after that, it's the order you applied 😞 

[SticklinchJoe]

42 minutes ago, nowayin said:

Does anyone know what grounds My Cause use to accept / reject people. Very annoying after taking £380 from my account. Why not just allow deposits for the amount of spaces available? 

 

 

They probably invested it for a few months and made some money out of it.

[dondo]

41 minutes ago, SticklinchJoe said:

 

They probably invested it for a few months and made some money out of it.

I think applications only opened last week?

[incident]

1 hour ago, dondo said:

I think applications only opened last week?

 

Yeah, and they've promised quick refunds for anyone unsuccessful.

 

Pretty confident in saying any minimal amount of interest they gain (if any) will be more than offset by card processing fees.

[broken monkey]

3 hours ago, nowayin said:

Does anyone know what grounds My Cause use to accept / reject people. Very annoying after taking £380 from my account. Why not just allow deposits for the amount of spaces available? 

 

I think it was based on past experience and what transferable skills you filled out in your profile. 

[nowayin]

7 minutes ago, broken monkey said:

I think it was based on past experience and what transferable skills you filled out in your profile. 

there was nowhere to fill out this information, only a box for if you wanted to be a supervisor. looks like they had priority for previous my cause stewards.

[broken monkey]

It was the area below where you selected if you wanted to be a supervisor or not. 

[nowayin]

6 minutes ago, broken monkey said:

It was the area below where you selected if you wanted to be a supervisor or not. 

yes, that box was to demonstrate previous supervisory experience not general festival experience

[broken monkey]

7 minutes ago, nowayin said:

yes, that box was to demonstrate previous supervisory experience not general festival experience

Fair enough. The section was titled Experience so I fill that in, despite not applying for a supervisor role. Can’t have done any harm anyway, despite it being very unclear. 

[Paul ™]

They shouldn't have those roles anyway

[SticklinchJoe]

5 hours ago, dondo said:

I think applications only opened last week?

 

And nothing happened in the last week that made shares plummet and then shoot back up again? 😜