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VOLUNTEER NOW FOR THE 2008 RUN FOR THE KIDS! Applications open Monday 17 December 2007We are pleased to announce that the 2008 Herald Sun/CityLink Run for the Kids will be held on March 30th and following on from the success of this year's event where more than 26,000 people ran, skipped, walked and rolled through tunnels and over the bridge, we're going to need your help again to manage the expected field of 30,000 likely to participate! It goes without saying that this enormous event could not be staged without the involvement of volunteers. The 2007 event relied significantly on the hard work of more than 400 people and we need to recruit a similar number again to ensure the 2008 runs safely and smoothly. So if you're not planning on entering as a participant this year, we could sure use your help as a volunteer. It's another terrific way of being involved and helping to raise vital funds for the 2008 Good Friday Appeal.
VOLUNTEER ROLESThere are a variety of roles to fill for the 2008 Herald Sun/CityLink Run for the Kids.
* These roles involve additional responsibilities. See description below. The following is a summary of all the roles we need to fill. Hopefully this will give you enough information to gauge your suitability as a volunteer. We have graded each role to give you a good idea of what level of physical activity is involved and also what communication skills are required. Please note that we don't anticipate any "sitting" roles as most require lots of standing and walking, so a reasonable level of health and fitness is necessary. Due to the similar physical demands each role involves, we hope that you'll allow us to allocate you to any of the roles listed below. Please indicate in your application if you can only perform roles with low physical activity.
Drink Station Assistants
There are drink stations every 3kms on the long course and at the 3km point in the short course. At each drink station there will be around 10-14 trestle tables and on these trestle tables there will be cups of water stacked high! It'll be fast paced and wet, but we need volunteers to fill and stack the cups, hand them to runners and to pick up cups off the road once the runners have discarded them. You will be required to help set up the station and then dismantle it once the last runner has passed, leaving all equipment and rubbish neatly stacked on the side of the road ready for collection. Drink Station Leaders
Each Drink Station will be allocated up to 25 people to operate the drink station, and we require a Drink Station Leader to coordinate the team. Drink Station Leaders will be issued a radio and required to help assemble and brief their team prior to deployment. Whilst out on course they will need to take full responsibility for the efficient running of the station by managing the volunteers and coordinating the activities necessary to make the Drink Station run brilliantly! Drink Station Leaders will need to have good excellent communication skills and experience managing people. Drink Station Leaders will be provided a comprehensive package of tasks and volunteer activities at their Drink Station and will report to the respective Long and Short Course Coordinators. Course Marshals
You might be asked to roam the bowels of the city as a course marshal in the Domain Tunnel or to take your post atop the city on the Bolte Bridge! Regardless of where you are positioned though, your service will be invaluable. Course Marshals will be located strategically along the course and will encounter varying responsibilities depending on the location; from cheering the runners, providing assistance to those who may be struggling along the way, notifying the Event Operations Team if issues arise along the course, and helping inform spectators and pedestrians about when the runners are expected or how to cross the course! Each volunteer will be provided a specific list of duties according to their role. Sector Leaders
The course has been divided into Sectors at approximately 1km intervals. Each Sector will have a Sector Leader. Sector Leaders will be issued a radio and required to help assemble and brief their team of course marshals prior to deployment. Whilst out on course they will need to move up and down their sector managing the volunteers and activities in that Sector. Sector Leaders will need to have excellent communication skills, be fit and be willing to take on a bit of extra responsibility. Sector Leaders will be provided a comprehensive package of tasks and volunteer activities within their Sector. Sector Leaders will report to the respective Long and Short Course Coordinators. Baggage Services
With such an early start for the runners it may be a brisk morning and the entrants will want to strip off a few layers before the starter's gun. Many people will be able to leave their bags with friends and family who have come along to support them; however a Baggage Storage Area will be available for those who have come to the event by themselves. All participants will be sent a coloured plastic bag (according to the coloured zone they will be running in) and a sticker with their race number on it. Participants will be able to drop this off with the volunteers in the Baggage Storage Area and collect it again after the race. The area will also be divided into corresponding colour zones. Volunteers will be helping participants deposit and retrieve their bags. Workforce Assistants
With so many volunteers needed to help run the event, we need to put volunteers aside to help manage them! All volunteers will need to check in on the morning of the event. At check in each volunteer gets checked off a roll, issued a meal voucher or meal (depending on your role through the day) and get a final brief before being deployed to their post. It's a critical role as the welfare of our volunteers is of the utmost importance and the seamless deployment of our volunteers out to their posts is vital! You will be helping processing the 400 volunteers on the morning of the event and ensuring they get on the buses in time for deployment. Roving Information Assistants
In actual fact, every volunteer will act as an Information Assistant at some point throughout the day with thousands of people around the city wanting information on the who, what, when, where and why's of the Event including all those tough and pertinent questions like "where's the toilet?!!" We'll equip you with all the answers and ask you to wander through the Village and help answer people's questions. Some assistants will even be positioned in umpire chairs to help direct people in and around the Village. Timing Assistants
Timing for the 2008 Herald Sun/CityLink Run for the Kids will be provided by Windag Australiasia. Each competitor will get a race number and the timing chip is affixed to the back of the bib. Start times will be recorded as competitors pass under the timing gantry at the start line with the finish time recoded at the finish line. Volunteers will be required to assist the Windag team with scanning each competitor's bib as they pass through the finish. Corporate Hospitality
Corporations can purchased the right to be 'wined and dined' in Corporate Tents in the Village in King's Domain with a percentage of the package price going straight to the Good Friday Appeal! Each has their own marquee and guests will be issued with wrist bands to help identify them as official guests of the respective Corporate Tents. Our volunteers will be the first people to greet the guests as they enter each corporate area and will be required to ensure that guests are wearing the right coloured wrist band. TIME COMMITMENTSIn addition to attending one of the 90-minute Training and Information Sessions, you will be required to be on-site from approximately 6.30am through until approximately 12 noon on event day depending on your role. If you are able to offer more time however, we can always do with some help before the event, so please indicate this on your application! Specific rosters will be produced in March but should not vary significantly from the above times. Any major changes will be confirmed with volunteers personally. INFORMATION AND TRAINING SESSIONSAn information and training evening will be run to enable the event managers to meet with the volunteers and communicate vital information including deployment methods, event day parking arrangements, drink station operations, meal solutions, radio training and evacuation procedures etc. Volunteers will also be issued with a volunteer pack containing a race booklet, volunteer information booklet and your official volunteer t-shirt. It will be a great opportunity to meet with fellow volunteers and ask any general event questions before the big day ahead. Two dates have been scheduled in an attempt to ensure everyone can attend one of the sessions. Light refreshments will be available. Dates:
Venue: You will be notified by email once the venue is confirmed. The venue will be in or close to the Melbourne CBD. VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTERSThe official Run for the Kids website is full of great information about the event. As we draw nearer to the event, specific volunteer information will also be made available on this website. In addition to the website we will be emailing out a monthly Volunteer e-newsletter so please ensure you provide a current email address on the Application Form so we can keep you up to date! HOW TO REGISTERDue to the enormous volume of data involved in managing the volunteer database, 2008 R4K Volunteer Applications can only be lodged online. Applications open Monday 17 December 2007 Applications close Friday 14 March 2008 at 5pm (EDST) Please note: all previous volunteers must complete the 2008 online Application Form.
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