10 Great reasons for volunteering

The time is flying by and before we know it we'll all be enjoying the 2017 Springwood Community Quilt Show. Here's a friendly reminder to get your quilt entries in before the 17th of March.

A big part of running a quilt show is the greatly needed help from volunteers. We couldn't do it without all the wonderful people filling in the required roles necessary to make the show the success that it is.
You don't have to have a quilt in the show to be a volunteer. Maybe you didn't have time to make a quilt this year, you can still take part by volunteering some of your time.

10 Great Reasons for Volunteering

Here are some great reasons for volunteering some of your time during the show

• It's a great way to be involved in something that benefits the community, not only your fellow quilters but the wider community of the Blue Mountains region. The money raised is used to make donations to the Blue Mountains Rural Fire Service and the Springwood High School. In 2016 we made a donation of $8,000 to the RFS which was only possible with the contribution of the team of wonderful volunteers. 

• Helping at a quilt show is a way to help the RFS. I know I wouldn't be capable to hold a hose in front of a wall of fire but I can enter quilts, and volunteer time at a show that raises money the men and women who do a great job of keeping us safe. 

• It's rewarding to experience the quilt show as a participant. A sense of being part of the team that makes it all happen.

• You get free entry during the show when you arrive for your shift/s.

• As a bonus all volunteers names for each shift are entered into a draw to win prizes.

• There's a job for everyone! If you need to sit down you'll be perfect for being on the front desk welcoming people and selling tickets. White gloving is a great way to spend time looking at the quilts. Setting up or packing up are great shifts for getting husbands involved.

• There are 5 days so there are lots of different times to suit everyone schedules.

• Volunteer with a friend or take the opportunity to make new friends. 

• We have broken the volunteer times into blocks of 2 hours so the time passes quickly. You can choose to do more shifts on one day or do shifts every day if you like.

• It's Fun!! You meet lovely people, you know how friendly quilters are! You're surrounded by lots of beautiful quilts. 

How Can You Help?

So now we've listed all the reasons why it's fun to volunteer lets look at some of the tasks you can help with.

Wednesday 26th April: Building frames and setting up the hall. 2-4pm

This is the day we assemble the hanging equipment and set up tables and chairs. Setting up the frames isn't as hard as it sounds. The frames although solid are light enough for anyone to carry and come together easily. This is a great day for getting husbands involved, and everyone else too for that matter. Many hands make light work and when everyone pitches in everything gets set up quite quickly.

Thursday 27th April 

This is such a fun and rewarding day. You get to see the hall transformed as the empty frames are filled with beautiful quilts.

Receiving Quilts, 10am -12midday:  Help receive the quilts and follow a list to allocate them to the correct rows.

Hanging Quilts, 12.30-3pm, 3pm-4.30pm: Don't be worried if you don't want to climb a ladder because there are plenty of other tasks, like pinning up small quilts, helping to unfold and pass up quilts, attaching quilt show labels etc, If you do enjoy climbing up a ladder you get the bonus of seeing the hall from a birds eye view.

Friday 28th-Sunday 30th: During the show

The following are the 3 areas we need volunteer help. The times are in blocks of 2 hours but you can volunteer for more shifts, and in different ares for variety if you like.

White Glove Duty - This is a great way to wander around and have a good look at the quilts. whilst being on hand to show a backing of a quilt or a closer detail if someone would like to see. Most people know not to touch the quilts. There are at least two white glove people at any given time.

Front Desk The time flies by when you're on the front desk. It's fun to welcome people to the show. One person sells entry tickets and another sells raffle tickets.

Cafe support- People love volunteering for the cafe. You work with a great team serving delicious food to happy showgoers.

Sun 24th April from 4pm-6pm onwards: Takedown. 

Once again this is one of those times where the more hands on deck the faster and more efficient it will be. There are jobs that will suit everyone - Getting the quilts down, unpinning small quilts, folding the quilts, assisting people with the collection of their quilts. As always husbands are very welcome and we find they especially enjoy helping pack up frames and getting the quilts down from the walls.

Baked Goodies for the Cafe

We have introduced a new way for people to help out. This is a great one for all of you who enjoy baking yummy things. Our Cafe is known for it's delicious home made slices and cakes but we can never have enough so we're putting a call out for cakes, slices, cookies, and all those delicious goodies. 

 If you are interested, please let us know what day/s you would like to cook for. You'll find the Volunteer form on the right side of the page, Simply tick the "Make a cake or slice" box for the corresponding day/s or email us at springwoodquiltshow@hotmail.com

So please volunteer some of your time. We couldn't have a show without everyone pitching in to help. Let us know what days and times suit you by using the online forms or download a paper form. If you have any questions please email us at springwoodquiltshow@hotmail.com

And please keep all those wonderful quilt entries coming in! I'm sure we all agree - the more quilts the merrier!