Help us by Volunteering!

Downloads:
Volunteer Timesheet

Thank you for your interest in helping out with Anthrocon. We depend on our small but dedicated army of volunteers to help with the thousands of things that need to be done. While we cannot pay our volunteers for their unselfish service, we can at least try to make their efforts worthwhile. As you work, we will ask you to keep track of your hours on a form that we will give to you. If you work for ten (10) hours during the convention, we will give you a free Anthrocon 2012 T-shirt! If you work more than 15 hours, we will give you a complimentary membership to Anthrocon 2013 next year. You will be given a timesheet when you sign up. If you are under 18, we will need a parent's signature as well. You can find a copy of the timesheet on this page (Click here!) if you want to get it signed by your parents ahead of time. It is two pages; please print it front-and-back. Except as noted below, we do not try to assign volunteers tasks ahead of time. This is simply because people's plans change even up to the last minute. If you are interested in volunteering, you need only stop by the Convention Operations Office (aka Con Ops) and sign up. This year, Con Ops will be located in Room 309 of the Convention Center during convention hours, and in the Crawford Room on the 3rd floor of the Westin Hotel after hours (2 AM to 7 AM, and all day Wednesday and Monday). The list below is to give you an idea of what sort of help we need and when, and to give you a chance to plan ahead on your own what you might want to do to help out.

Tuesday evening, June 12 -- Hours worked on this day count double!

• Philadelphia-area Loaders. The Art Show panels live in North Philadelphia and the rest of Anthrocon's equipment resides in the Borough of Malvern, about 25 miles away. We need one or two strong backs to help wrestle the carts holding the Art Show equipment into the truck starting at 5:30 PM. This should take about 30 minutes. The truck will then depart for Malvern, where loading will commence around 7 PM. We will need about 4-6 people for that. If you can commit to helping with this activity either in North Philadelphia or Malvern (preferably both!), please email volunteer-2012(AT)anthrocon.org. There will be dinner in Malvern for those who help out that evening.

Wednesday, June 13 -- Hours worked on this day count double, except for conbag stuffing, which counts at one-and-a-half.

• Please note: We do not anticipate needing Philadelphia-area loaders on Wednesday!
• Pittsburgh-area Loaders. We need folks who can travel to the Anthrocon storage locker, located about 5 miles north of the Convention Center in Pittsburgh, in order to help load the equipment that we keep there. We need about 5-6 people with good strong backs; additionally, we need one or two people who are either local to the Pittsburgh area, or will have a car with them, who can help shuttle volunteers out and back. The truck is expected to arrive at the storage locker between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM, so we will need people to be ready to depart from the Westin at around 11:45 AM. We anticipate that the process will take about 60 minutes. If you can commit to helping with this activity, please email volunteer-2012(AT)anthrocon.org and let us know (1) what time you plan to arrive at the Westin, (2) whether you will have a car, and (3) if so, how many people you anticipate that you could take in your car.
• Unloaders. The fully-laden truck will be arriving at the Westin at approximately 2:30 PM. We will need people to carry some of the equipment from the loading dock up to the Crawford Room. If you couldn't make it early enough to be a "Loader," we can still use your strong back here. There will not be a lot of material going to the Westin, so we only need a few folks here. If you would look to help out with this activity, just stop by the Westin Operations Office located in the Crawford Room, 3rd floor.
• Operations Volunteers. Ops can use folks to help set up shelves, organize the office, unpack boxes, set up signs on easels, and numerous other tasks.
• Registration Volunteers. We'll have more than 4000 registration bags to stuff with con books, flyers, pocket programs, and so forth. It is a tedious task, but the more folks we have working on it, the faster it will go! This year the job is going to take place in Concourse B of the Convention Center, starting around 6:00 PM. You must stop by Con Ops first and sign up as a volunteer before coming down to help!!

Thursday, June 14

• Internet Room Volunteers. Help run cables, carry computers around, and learn from the immortal Tigerwolf! We also have a special need for night-owls to keep an eye on the Internet Room between the hours of midnight and 8 AM. Hours worked in this late-night capacity will count double. If you will be available to help out during this time, please contact tigerwolf(at)tigerden.com in advance.
• Registration Volunteers. Want to help hand out badges or check folks in? We can certainly use you!
• Door Guards. There's some areas that require Anthrocon badges to enter. We often ask sharp-eyed volunteers to man the door and make sure the riffraff don't get in!
• Art Show Volunteers. The Art Show staff can use help in getting artists checked in and making sure everything flows smoothly.
• A/V Assistants. Audio & Video needs volunteers who are comfortable learning and working with professional A/V gear, and who can keep a cool head when the pressure is on. We are especially looking for individuals who are willing to return from year to year.
• Hospitality/Info Desk Volunteers. We're looking for a few good folks, preferably who live locally, who can answer common questions such as "where do I find..?" You'll be provided with a map of the area, the dining guide, up-to-date information about the schedule and locations of events, and most importantly, a radio in case someone throws a question you can't answer.
• Gofers. We'll need you to go fer this and go fer that. This can involve anything from helping carry boxes to running messages.

Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16

• Registration Volunteers. Want to help hand out badges or check folks in? We can certainly use you!
• Door Guards. There's some areas that require Anthrocon badges to enter. We often ask sharp-eyed volunteers to man the door and make sure the riffraff don't get in!
• Internet Room Volunteers. We have a special need for night-owls to keep an eye on the Internet Room between the hours of midnight and 8 AM. Hours worked in this late-night capacity will count double. If you will be available to help out during this time, please contact tigerwolf(at)tigerden.com in advance.
• A/V Assistants. Audio & Video needs volunteers who are comfortable learning and working with professional A/V gear, and who can keep a cool head when the pressure is on. We are especially looking for individuals who are willing to return from year to year.
• Headless Lounge Assistants. Weary fursuiters will be grateful for your help as they stop in to cool off.
• Art Show Volunteers. The Art Show staff can use help in getting the rest of the artists checked in, signing up bidders, and making sure everything flows smoothly, as well as help with the Mature Art Auction Saturday night.
• Hospitality/Info Desk Volunteers. We're looking for a few good folks, preferably who live locally, who can answer common questions such as "where do I find..?" You'll be provided with a map of the area, the dining guide, up-to-date information about the schedule and locations of events, and most importantly, a radio in case someone throws a question you can't answer.
• Gofers. We'll need you to go fer this and go fer that. This can involve anything from helping carry boxes to running messages.

Sunday, June 17

• Registration Volunteers. Want to help hand out badges or check folks in? We can certainly use you! Also, once Registration closes int he afternoon there'll be a lot of things to pack up.
• Door Guards. There's some areas that require Anthrocon badges to enter. We often ask sharp-eyed volunteers to man the door and make sure the riffraff don't get in!
• A/V Assistants. You never know when you need an extra hand to hold a light!
• Art Show Volunteers. The Art Show staff can use help with the General Art Auction, in getting artists checked out and making sure the Art Pickup flows smoothly.
• Charity Assistants. The charity auction may need some folks backstage to help organize the items and to man the radio. We may also need runners at the auction itself.
• Gofers. We'll need you to go fer this and go fer that. This can involve anything from helping carry boxes to running messages.
• Internet Room Volunteers. We have a special need for night-owls to keep an eye on the Internet Room between the hours of midnight and 8 AM. Hours worked in this late-night capacity will count double. If you will be available to help out during this time, please contact tigerwolf(at)tigerden.com in advance.
• Hospitality/Info Desk Volunteers. We're looking for a few good folks, preferably who live locally, who can answer common questions such as "where do I find..?" You'll be provided with a map of the area, the dining guide, up-to-date information about the schedule and locations of events, and most importantly, a radio in case someone throws a question you can't answer.
• Operations Volunteers. We're going to start packing up in the evening, and we will need people later in the night to help organize things into boxes and stack them so that they can be loaded into the truck the following morning.

Monday, June 18 -- Hours worked this day count double!

• Internet Room Volunteers. Help pack up cables, carry computers around, and pack the Tigerden truck to return home.
• Pittsburgh-area Loaders. The Union folks will load the Art Show panels into the truck on Sunday evening, followed by the A/V equipment owned by Anthrocon. On Monday (likely early in the morning), we will need to load the rest of the equipment which will be in the Westin onto the truck. Strong backs will be needed again. If it is very early in the morning, we'll give you coffee.
• Pittsburgh-area Unloaders. The truck should be heading north to the storage locker at approximately 12:00 PM. We need about 5-6 people with good strong backs; additionally, we need one or two people who are either local to the Pittsburgh area, or will have a car with them, who can help shuttle volunteers out and back. We anticipate being finished and having people back to the hotel by 2:00 PM. If you can commit to helping with this activity, please email volunteer-2012(AT)anthrocon.org and let us know (1) whether you will have a car, and (2) if so, how many people you anticipate that you could take in your car.
• Philadelphia-area Unloaders. The truck will make its first stop in Malvern between 7 PM and 7 PM. We will need about 5-6 strong backs to help unload the equipment that stays there. It will then proceed to North Philadelphia, arrivign between 9 and 10 PM. We will need 2-3 strong backs then to move the Art Show panels back into their home. If you can commit to helping with this activity, please email volunteer-2012(AT)anthrocon.org. We will do our best to feed you dinner for helping out that evening, if anyplace is still open when we're done.

For more information on volunteering, please see our Volunteering FAQ.