Revised: March 9, 2008

Volunteering

Responsibilities
Benefits
Sign-up

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Anime USA 2008! We are looking for responsible individuals to assist the staff in various tasks.

To be eligible to volunteer you must:

be a registered member of the convention
be at least 16 years old by the convention (photo ID required)
abide by the rules of the convention

Responsibilities

Volunteers need to work the hours they commit to. If a problem comes up please let some one in charge know immediately. Any volunteer who does not work the required hours or fails to properly perform their duties at the convention risks being barred from volunteering in the future.

Volunteers are required to attend one of several orientation meetings held during the convention. Orientation will include a run through the rules, any changes and improvements made from last year, and a tour of the hotel. The tour is extremely helpful to get the layout of the convention so you know where you are going and the short-cuts to get there. (Being on time is extremely important.) There are also many changes to how volunteers will be run this year and will be fully explained during orientation.

Below is a short list and brief description of some of the tasks volunteers may perform.

Checking Badges

Volunteers are needed to check the badges of convention attendees to make sure they are members and they are allowed in the area. This is needed for the Dealers Room, Main Events, Art Show, the Video Gaming Room, and some special events.

Video Room Monitoring

Volunteers are required to start the scheduled shows on time (but never early), and making sure everything is working correctly. You will be trained on how to run the equipment, but the A/V staff will fix any problems if they occur. Volunteers are also required to watch the video room for ANY suspicious behavior including (but not limited to) theft of equipment and/or vandalism. Please make sure you show up at least 5 minutes before the scheduled showing.

Registration

Volunteers are needed to help the registration staff hand out the bags and badges to the people registering for the convention. Volunteers will not be handling money. They are also needed to stuff bags with the program books and other hand-outs.

Con Ops Runner

We need volunteers on hand to help with whatever tasks arise. You may fill in for another volunteer who fails to show up or do some other task that is required.

Art Show

We need volunteers to help watch the art show and to move art for the auction.

Set Up/Tear Down

We need a limited number of volunteers, age 18 or older, to help move our equipment from the storage facility to the convention hotel on Thursday, to help with setup on Thursday night and Friday morning, to help with tear down on Sunday night, and to help return it to the storage facility on Monday. These volunteers must commit to 20 hours. By helping before and after the con, you will be free during the con. Additionally, these volunteers will be provided up to two additional nights of crash space beyond what is listed in the benefits below on Thursday and Sunday nights because of the set up they will be doing early on Friday morning and the return to storage early Monday morning.

Benefits

Yup, that's right! Volunteering isn't a thankless task! You get benefits depending on how many hours you work. Please see the chart below for benefits provided for the number of hours worked.

Hours Volunteered	Benefit Received
8 hours	Anime USA 2008 T-shirt
12 hours	Anime USA 2008 T-shirt plus 1 of the following options: 50% membership refund (see note) 1 night of crash space
16 hours	Anime USA 2008 T-shirt plus 1 of the following options: 100% membership refund (see note) 50% membership refund and 1 night of crash space 2 nights of crash space
20 hours	All three: Anime USA 2008 T-shirt 100% membership refund (see note) 2 nights of crash space

T-Shirts

Volunteers who work a minimum of 8 hours get an Anime USA 2008 T-shirt in the size of their choice. So when filling out that form make sure you list the size you want so we can set them aside for you before the convention.

Refunds

You can have some (maybe all) of the money you spent registering for the convention refunded. The amount depends on the number of hours worked and what other benefits (if any) you choose. Refunds will be issued at specified times during the convention to those who have completed their hours. Refunds are only made at the Regular registration rate you paid. Those that registered for Silver who volunteer will receive a refund of the equivalent Regular registration rate.

Crash Space

We have a limited number of hotel rooms available for our volunteers in which to sleep. Four people will be in each a room. To be eligible for crash space you must work at least a total of 12 hours for one night or 16 hours for 2 nights of crash space. If you require crash space, you must notify us when you register as a volunteer. While we will attempt to provide sex-segregated rooms, it may not always be possible. Parties are not permitted in the rooms provided by the convention.

Alternatively, volunteers may reserve their own rooms, and Anime USA will reimburse 1/4 of the room cost for one night for each night of crash space earned up to the convention's room rate plus tax. Volunteer's name must appear on the bill and a copy of the bill must be provided to the Volunteer coordinator at that time. These reimbursements will be made by check two to three weeks after the convention is over. Volunteers must coordinate this first with the volunteer coordinator.