What have we gotten ourselves into? We're volunteering to work one of many aid stations during our local Habitat for Humanity's marathon next Saturday (Jan. 23rd). However, things are not as they were proposed. We were told, via email when we signed up, that it would be a 3-4 hour commitment, handing water to runners, offering Bandaids, registering runners, passing out t-shirts, etc. At the mandatory meeting we attended Saturday, we were told it's an 8-10 hour commitment. The runners will race around our local reservoir, plus a few miles have been added to make up for the shortage in the lake's perimeter. Because the course is out in the hills, once you are bused to your aid station at 6 a.m., you have to stay there until the bus comes to pick you up after 3 p.m. They have promised Port-o-lets, but no shelter (EZ Ups) unless you bring one yourself (it will be storming and muddy up there after the week's worth of rain we're going to be pounded with). The organizers told us at the mandatory meeting that the marathon will go on, "rain or shine," and that they expect many people to drop off the volunteer list because of the heavy rains, "but we're counting on you." Also, they asked us to pick up the trash the runners drop -- NOT A PROBLEM until they mentioned not to wander too far off because there are mountain lions and other wildlife up there (...and no radios to call for help, and no phone number of someone in charge if and when I need someone to scare the mountain lion away?!?). "Pack your lunches and your medications, if you need any, because you're going to be there all day." It keeps echoing through my head, and it doesn't make this a "fun" thing to do anymore.
Let me add that the meeting was an organizational nightmare! They knew how many people to expect, due to the emails, and they should have known to plan on others showing up. That being said, they ran out of the liability waivers for people to sign. The organizers kept talking over one another, and the sequence of items to talk about left many people confused (one lady talked about how to mix the Gatorade and how to hold the cups out for runners to grab before we even heard what time to meet and where).
In order to volunteer, we need to purchase rain gear. We live in Southern California, and according to the song, "it never rains in Southern California." We have tiny umbrellas, but not so much as a waterproof jacket, let alone rain boots. In the end, it would be cheaper to buy 2 Disney park passes! Yes, I know the principle behind the whole promotion is to give of yourself to help others, but this seems beyond the ideals of the Give a Day promo.
Sooo...what would YOU do? Would you follow through with what you said you'd do, or would you try to find another opportunity? To the OP, sorry to have hijacked your post, but this seemed like a good place to ask for help. Thanks for your insights!
is not worth it.
