Sign up for an opportunity
Press Sign Up to Volunteer on any published opportunity. You do not need an account: name and email are enough for the organizer to expect you.
What it asks
- Full Name and Email. Required, because the organizer needs to know who is coming and how to reach you if the plan changes.
- Number of additional guests, not counting yourself. Count them here rather than having each person sign up separately, so the organizer’s numbers are right.
- Which shift(s) are you signing up for?, when the opportunity runs on several dates or times rather than one.
- Message, optional, for anything the organizer should know.
- Anything else the organizer asked. Some opportunities add their own questions: shirt size, dietary needs, whether you can drive. Those come from the organizer, not from us, and they can be text boxes, dropdowns, yes or no, or tick lists.
What you confirm
When an opportunity carries an age limit, a list of requirements, or a waiver, the form asks you to confirm each one before it will submit:
- I confirm I am at least [n] years old.
- I acknowledge the following requirements, listing them: closed toed shoes, own transportation, able to swim, background check, whatever the organizer ticked.
- I have reviewed the digital waiver, with the waiver itself as a link. The waiver belongs to the organization running the opportunity, and any question about what it covers goes to them.
An opportunity can set a minimum age and, separately, a lower one for somebody attending with a chaperone. Both are on the listing before you get this far. They come from what the work involves or what the site requires, so they are not ours to waive.
Email preferences on the form
Three boxes, and they are separate on purpose:
| Box | What it means |
|---|---|
| I agree to share my email with the organization | Required. The organizer cannot run the day without a way to reach you. |
| Send me event reminders and follow-up emails | The reminder before, and the thank you after. |
| Add me to [organization]‘s mailing list | Their own list, which is not the same thing. |
All three are changeable later from Email Preferences on your profile. See your account.
When an opportunity is full
An organizer can cap the number of signups. A bar on the listing reads “12 of 20 spots filled”, and once the cap is reached the button is replaced by a note telling you to contact the event coordinator directly. The email on the listing is the one to use.
After you sign up
You get a confirmation by email. Closer to the day you get a reminder, and afterwards a thank you.
If you have an account, the opportunity appears under My RSVPs on your profile, and a Log hours button appears on the opportunity itself once you have joined. See your hours.
Changing your mind
Cancel RSVP takes you off the list. It is on the opportunity page itself once you are signed up, beside “You’re signed up”, and on the entry in My RSVPs. If you signed up as a guest, reply to your confirmation email instead.
Do cancel rather than simply not going. Organizers plan supplies and staffing off these numbers, and an unexplained absence costs somebody a place.