VOLUNTEER: Off site volunteering opportunities

Bunnies,

If you would like to fulfill your 2 shift volunteer requirement from home, and/or would simply like to be more involved, here are descriptions the positions we need to fill ASAP:

**Please note that the following positions will be set up with a chubby bunny e-mail address so your personal e-mail addresses are protected.

Please do NOT RSVP to this e-mail. Contact Bernie@chubbybunnynyc.org

Recipe Committee members: Members will assist the Recipe Coordinator with doing a few tasks involving the e-newsletter where we include a recipe or 2 using the ingredients in that week's share and our blog. The farmer e-mails the recipe coordinator a list of produce on Sunday so you can choose recipes with some of those veggies. I like to provide recipes using some of the more unusual veggies and encourage members to send in their favorite recipes to you as well. As a bonus you can choose to write a few lines about the veggie(s) highlighted in that week's recipe. Nutritional content, best ways to store, whatever. Once the staff has put that information together it will get emailed to newsletter volunteers and they will cut and paste to make it work on the newsletter. It would be great if a member of this committee was good with uploading and maintaining a blog.

Optional Share Coordinator: This member will act as a liaison between Whippoorwill Farm, ADAMAH, Hepworth Farms, and Cayuga and the members who receive the shares from these farms. Your responsibilities will include: sending out weekly e-mails reminders to the different member groups, receiving e-mails from any member who is experiencing a "problem" with their share and communicating that to me and likely the farmer. The other optional shares we offered are covered by another member, Leigh Morgan so if either of you need a week(s) off during the season you will have a back up.

Advocacy Coordinator: If you are passionate and connected to local sustainable farming issues, environmental issues, green markets etc., this may be good for you. I'm looking for someone who is not hesitant to be proactive and will send out periodic e-mail announcements re: these issues and or events happening locally or politically.

Chubby Bunny Event Coordinator and staff. Each year we organize a few activities for the membership. This year I would like to organize a trip(s) to the farm and our annual grill night at the site. If possible, we can also do some cooking demonstrations with chefs from Just Foods. We have done all of these in past seasons so the Coordinator can be briefed from previous staff to help out.

Trial Shares Coordinator: This person would keep a list of people who got shut out of our CSA this year but would be interested in trying a trial share sometime during the season. Later in the season, when/if we have extra to spare, I will periodically let you know if we have a small or large share(s) to offer the following week. You will then contact people on that list until you receive confirmation and then relay that person(s) name to the site coordinator via e-mail. It's important that the person for this position be friendly and helpful as he/she will likely be the first to represent Chubby Bunny CSA!

Thanks,

Bernie

Bernie@chubbybunnynyc.org

PS Priority for the above positions will be given to members who have already requested alternative volunteer shifts.

VOLUNTEER: Notes about volunteering on site

Dear Chubby Bunny members,

You can now sign up on line for volunteer shifts for the full season. As a former resident of Chicago, I invite you to vote for yourself to volunteer "early and often!"

For the benefit of new members and for those who have just lost the knack:

Most members fullfill their volunteer commitment by working two shifts at the distribution site over the course of the season. (And many members choose to work extra shifts beyond the two-shift requirement.) Those who cannot work at the site can volunteer in other ways off-site (by arrangement with Bernie) or by buying their way out (by arrangement with June). The requirement is per membership unit; so if a multi-person household has a membership, only two shifts are required, i.e. a two-person household must contribute two shifts, not four. The requirement is the same without respect to whether a share is "full" or "half" and does not vary with additional shares, i.e. two shifts for full share members, half share members, and no extra shifts attached to fruit, chicken, egg, and milk shares.

We have an early (4:30 - 6:00) and late (6:00 - 7:30) shift each date. We also have added several double shifts for chicken distribution. You can satisfy your two shift commitment by working single shifts on two seperate dates or by working a double shift on one date. To receive credit for the shift, you must arrive on time. Although arriving late is preferable to not showing up at all, late arrivals place an extraordinary burden on the site coordinators: when a volunteer does not show up on time, the site coordinator has to spend time finding somebody else and re-distributing the work, rather than doing the actual work of running the site.

When you sign up, please be sure to include your phone number and e-mail address in the space provided. If you have a mobile phone that you are likely to carry the day you are volunteering, please use that number.

If you are signing up for more than one shift, please be sure to check the date and time for each slot you want.

Please be sure to include any special information (such as "no heavy lifting" or relevant medical conditions) in the space provided for additional instructions. We generally can accommodate only one person with limitations on each shift. As a general matter, the late shift requires less heavy lifting than the early shift.

To sign up, go to http://www.chubbybunnynyc.org. Choose the link for "volunteers" from the list on the left. You will be taken to a page that gives a detailed description of the duties for each shift, including the new chicken shift. Scroll down and click the link for signing up. You will be taken to a form requiring your name, e-mail address, phone number, and special instructions. After entering that information, be sure to scroll down and click the box to the left of each shift you want. To register, you will have to type in a security code that appears, and click "register." If you have done all this perfectly, you will be rewarded with a message that your sign-on has been successful and you will be able to click on a link that takes you back to the volunteer page showing your name next to the shift for which you have registered. Please be sure to check that your sign-on has been successful.

Once you've signed on, I'll receive a message and record the information in my records. I won't send you a message confirming your sign-on, because you will have done that yourself already. I will send out a message each weekend to the volunteers for the upcoming Tuesday confirming that we look forward to seeing you.

If your schedule changes, please let me know as soon as possible (by sending an e-mail to volunteers@chubbybunnynyc.org ) so I can get you off the list and recruit somebody else to work in your place.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas about how to make any of this work better.

Looking forward to a great season!

Best,

Abe
Volunteer Coordinator

PS. A FEW NOTES ABOUT VOLUNTEERING:

A few notes on sign-up:

1. Please make sure to include the name in which the share is held if it's not yours so I can give credit correctly.

2. Please include spaces in the usual places when putting down your phone number.

3. Note that we've added more shifts this year so sign-up should be easier.

4. And note that late shifts are going fast!

Best,

Abe

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Annual Grill Night

Like to cook? Share it with the CSA members and help prepare food for grill night! We need a volunteer to make vegetable skewers and a volunteer to make hamburgers. All meat and vegetables will be provided at pick-up on Tuesday, July 28th. Be creative! Contact Holly for more details. Holly_Magliano@mckinsey.com.

Volunteer Positions Available

If you are unable to come to the site to volunteer during the season, then one of these off-site volunteer positions might be perfect for you and will relieve you of the responsibility of your 2 on-site shift requirements. These are the positions we need to fill...

Recipe Coordinator(s):  If you like to cook this may be for you! Each week we send out a e-newsletter where we include a recipe or 2 using the ingredients in that week's share. The farmer will e-mail the recipe coordinator a list of produce on Sunday so you can choose recipes with some of those veggies (it's preferable to provide recipes using some of the more unusual veggies) and encourage members to send in their favorite recipes to you as well. If you so desire, you can choose to write a few lines about the veggie(s) highlighted in that week's recipe. Nutritional content, best ways to store, whatever. We can send you a sample of past recipe posts to give you an idea if that appeals to you. Once you have put together your info, you will email it to our website and newsletter coordinators so they can present it weekly in the newsletter and on our website. Posting and updating our recipe blog is an option as well.

Advocacy Co-Coordinator: If you are passionate and connected to local sustainable farming issues, environmental issues, green markets etc., this may be good for you. We are looking for someone to work with Lexi, our co-coordinator from last season, who is not hesitant to be proactive and will send out periodic email announcements regarding these issues and or events happening locally or politically.

Trial Shares Coordinator: This person would keep a list of people who got shut out of our CSA this year but would be interested in trying a trial share sometime during the season. When/if we have extra to spare because of vacationing members or otherwise, I will let you know what we have available to offer the following week. You will then contact people on that list until you receive confirmation and then relay that person(s) name to the site coordinator's google document online. It's important that the person for this position be friendly and helpful as he/she will likely be the first to represent Chubby Bunny CSA! In a perfect world, this person would be a returning member who is more familiar with our operation.