The DTES Neighbourhood House is looking for some volunteers to help out with a Harvest Festival that we're having at our urban farm this Sunday September 5th from 2-8pm! Attendees will be able to harvest their own food, we'll have free smoothies, live music and kid-friendly activities like berry picking. The urban farm is located at Hawks & Hastings next to the Astoria Hotel. Here are the different volunteer roles available:
Setup Crew (12-2pm shift): Volunteers will arrive at the farm or NH (tbd) at 12 and set up for the event. There may be some heavy lifting. Setup will be until the event starts at 2pm. Ideally volunteers will be able to come to an orientation at the farm on Saturday (sept 4) at 3pm.
Takedown Crew (8-10pm shift): Takedown will start at 8pm. Volunteers will help take everything down, and move some things back to the NH. If you can come to the orientation on Sat (sept 4) at 3pm that will be helpful, but isn't required. Volunteers helping with takedown will need to ensure they have a car/ride or safe transportation home since it will be dark out by the time takedown is done. We're estimating that takedown will finish at 9:30, but 10pm would be the latest.
Greeters (2-5pm shift and 5-8pm shift): Volunteers will be stationed at the entrance to the farm. They'll welcome people coming to the event. We are really trying to make this an inviting event to community members. That is priority! Greeters will also keep track of aprox number of people inside the farm. They'll also probably be answering questions from passers by about the farm, etc. We would like greeters to come to the orientation on Saturday (sept 4) at 3pm. If that isn't possible though, a phone call is doable.
Smoothie Bike Operator (2-5pm shift and 5-8pm shift): We have a stationary bike which powers a blender used to make delicious smoothies! Volunteers will help with riding the bike to power the blender, and help with making the smoothies. If you can come to the orientation on Saturday Sept 4th at 3pm that's ideal, but if not we can schedule a call.
If you're interested in volunteering for any of these roles, please email volunteer@dtesnhouse.ca. You are also welcome to come to the event as a guest. We will be raising funds by donation to support the urban farm project. The DTESNH Urban Farm allows our organization to grow fresh, organic food for our meal programs including Community Drop-In and Family Drop-In. Some of the food grown also goes directly towards to DTES Community members through our Free Produce Market. Other organizations such as WISH, DEWC, The Dudes Club and Hives for Humanity also use the urban farm for their own programs.
Note: the farm is somewhat wheelchair accessible--some parts of the farm. Please let us know if you'd like to volunteer and use a wheelchair so that we can make sure that we're signing you up for the right volunteer role for you!
