How to create an Awesome Volunteer Team.

Step 1: Source Volunteers:

Post 'Volunteer Copy Ad 'on Craigslist in Volunteer Section with Blind Cafe City Gmail Account E-mail for volunteer to reply too. Do this twice a week 8 weeks leading up to the show.
Contact Past Volunteers via the Gmail Account For Your City and Ask them to come again + bring a friend.
Contact Past Guests: Remind Marketing Director to include Volunteer Offer in Mailing List blasts to past guests.
Contact Local Culinary Schools: Call up the schools Career Counselor and offer up opportunity for students to volunteer at the blind cafe for real-world kitchen / event experience.
Ask the Chef to find a 1 - 2 key personal friend volunteers who they trust and would be solid for them. Ideally 1 - 2 people from their 'love of food' community for each shift to have a solid crew. Then supply them with the rest of volunteers needed for food prep.

Step 2: Organize Responses:

Create a Google Volunteer Form ( Example below )
Send each responder to fill out Google Volunteer Form
As volunteers respond, organize the volunteers into different volunteer categories; (Kitchen Helper, Box Office/Lobby Helper, Dining Room Set Up/Clean Up, Marketing Assistant, Assistant Leadership Roles ( These are potential Volunteer Leaders, we empower to be team leads, managing major tasks and other volunteers at the event or for production and volunteering. )
Enter their name, e-mail and phone number into our Master Volunteer List. ( Set up Google Form to capture and organize volunteer contact info to easily access.
Send any specific 'Marketing Volunteers' contact to our Marketing Director, Gianna ( gianna.image@gmail.com and she will guide them from there. If they are helping in both marketing and the event itself, then you will guide them for their volunteer times for the days of the event and Gianna will handle them for marketing before the event volunteering.

Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KmhYlaJj3BDflcfy-E09D2yhv5sRi-aC43erkxps-A4/viewform

Step 3: Assign and Confirm Volunteers:

Assign Roles and Set Up Google Calendar: Assign each volunteer to a role and then create a Google calendar and schedule in each volunteer into the calendar.
Send Confirmation to Volunteer & Instruct Them to RSVP & Invite friends via facebook event page: Make sure to send them a confirmation through the Google account and /or via e-mail to confirm their volunteer commitment and time. *Correspond with volunteers as needed to adapt to their ability to help in respects to times, hours etc.
Week of the Show Confirmation: The week of the show ( Usually Monday ) E-mail and / or call all volunteers to confirm their commitments for the events communicating the importance that they (a) show up on time (b) stay till the end AND request any Kitchen Equipment needs for them to bring in to help with equipment for Chef as needed.

Notes

Personable volunteers are best for Lobby positions: Seating Helper, Bar Tender, Sales, Registration,
Kitchen experienced people we want in the kitchen ( closed toe shoes etc. ) For Kitchen Helpers: Ask them to wear closed toed shoes for Kitchen Helping, bring your own knifes if you have them and to remember to take them home with them also.
Registration we want smart, focused and organized detail oriented volunteers who can handle stress.
ALL volunteers, except day shift volunteers who have been their all day MUST stay till the very end of the event for clean up. This group effort makes the whole clean up AWESOME instead only a few of us being there till 4am scrubbing floors.
Communicate to Volunteers that they get to eat and experience the show just like guests at the volunteer table in the dark. We do NOT provide lunch or volunteer food separate from the volunteer table food in the event so they will be responsible for their own food for lunch or earlier dinner if they need to eat earlier than when we have food in the dark.
For Kitchen Helpers: Wear closed toed shoes for Kitchen Helping, bring your own knifes if you have them.

Volunteer Equipment List

First Aid Kit
Water Bottles or Access to Water
Trader Joe's Chocolate ( break out Chocolate Love once and while )
Portable Music Speakers for Great Vibe in Kitchen and Dining Room setup
Volunteer Position Handouts

Resource List

Craigslist Link: http://www.craigslist.org
Google Form: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/createforms.html
Google Form Sample: Here
'Volunteer Copy Ad 3 - Final Confirmation + Equipment Resourcing'

Volunteer Copy Ad 1 - Craigslist Post' Sample

Volunteer in the PITCH DARK @ The Boulder Blind Cafe ~ Boulder (Aug. 1- 3)

Come Join us & Volunteer in the dark @ The Boulder Blind Cafe ~ Boulder (August 1-3rd)

Hi wonderful Boulder volunteers...
We are performing an amazing event in August called The Boulder Blind Cafe, it's a concert and sensory tasting held in total darkness.
All our waitstaff are legally blind & %10 of the proceeds will be donated to help support the blind community in Boulder.

How would you like to help?
You can choose as many ways to help as you like ;)

Help with Marketing / Spreading the MAGIC ;) ( Before the Show )
Help with Event Planning ( before the show )
Help in Kitchen / Food Prep ( days of the show )
Help with Set Up / Break Down ( days of event )
Help with Website Design and/or Content / Copy Writing ( before event )
Help with Sourcing Food Sponsors ( before event )
Help with sourcing financial sponsors ( before event )
Help out in all of the ways above.

***All volunteers get to experience the darkness and make lots of great friends and have fun and learn how awesome this event is!!!!!

If interested,
1) Check us out at: http://www.theblindcafe.com/boulder/
2) Apply to volunteer here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KmhYlaJj3BDflcfy-E09D2yhv5sRi-aC43erkxps-A4/viewform
3) Our event coordinator will contact you to get you dialed in :)

***PLEASE, PLEASE only contact us if you are a 'solid volunteer' i.e. will show up on time, stay till when your committed and really want to have a great time!!!!

Thanks so much ~Rosh & The Blind Cafe Staff