Participate/Volunteer/Details

Back to Participate Page

We need both ONSITE and VIRTUAL/REMOTE VOLUNTEERS.

NOTE: BY COMING ON SITE YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO ARREST. It’s a “Protest Action Site”. For more info, see the legal [FAQ].

ONSITE VOLUNTEERING

The best way to help onsite is to just SHOW UP. Unless you have a specific skill, like medical or legal, please just show up.

People AT the camp ARE the occupation. Look for people who are working and ask how to help. Ask a camper if you can help with anything.

Camping is the hardest part of this occupation. For campers to stay, they need to be comfortable.

Check in at the INFO TENT/WELCOME CENTER. There is a list of volunteer needs, or go straigh to a functional tent, like the Food Tent and ask to help.

Remember to DRESS WARM! Being outside generally requires warm clothes and comfortable, rugged shoes, because of the gravel path.

________________________________________________________________

SAMPLE JOBS

GREETERS: This is a fun job! If you like meeting new people and don’t mind talking to strangers. Greet newcomers and ask them if this is their first time onsite. And help them connect with folks that are interested in similar topics/issues. Help them get a sense of the camp and where to find things. And find out if they want to “sign up”! for fun jobs they’ll enjoy… like marching, or making posters, outreach, or even developing policy as we move into “how” we will actually get this done part of the demand process.

FOOD PREP, SERVERS, and DISHWASHERS: The food tent always needs help serving fruit salad and organizing canned goods.

ERRAND RUNNERS: We need people to run errands for the campers… and the food and logistics tents which often need to run and get supplies and water.

TRASH/CLEANUP: This is everyone’s job and after camping all night outside, it’s hard to remember to clean up everything. You’ll see many smiling faces if you can pitch in and pitch it out. If you can take a few minutes to walk around and pick up while you’re there, that would be great.

POSTER MAKERS and CARDBOARD CUTTERS: Make posters and/or cut up cardboard. Fun fun fun!

SUPPLY SORTERS: help the LOGISTICS tent sort through boxes and boxes of supplies and organize the supplies.

COMMUNITY WATCH: NIGHT HOURS…walk the site to make sure everything is OK. A constant “awake” presence is required at the site for safety, and to show the public that we’re managing things well…

Email for Volunteer Coordinators: volunteeroccupybos@gmail.com

OFFSITE and VIRTUAL VOLUNTEERING

• BLOGGING

Search for blogs and newspaper/media that have articles. Or go to the main website (http://www.occupyboston.org/) and OB facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OccupyBoston) page and look for posts of media. Go to those sites, read the article and the comments. Post replies “in support”. Use the “messages” at the main website to help you write things in support of the movement. Here’s a good place to find those messages: http://www.occupyboston.org/faq/general-faq/

• POSTER YOUR TOWN

Print out 50 flyers from the website. Find them at: http://www.occupyboston.org/flyers-print-and-post/

Hand them out downtown, at the grocery store, at the big discount store. Post them at coffee shops, bus stations, anywhere that seems appropriate. Be considerate of local cultural preferences relative to posting on telephone poles. While there are laws allowing and preventing, there’s often a local preference that may be worth respecting.

• SET UP and/or STAFF A TABLE IN YOUR TOWN

Get a card table and set it up downtown somewhere. Or at a busy bus or train station. Wherever there’s a lot of foot traffic. Print out a bunch of flyers from http://www.occupyboston.org/flyers-print-and-post/ And just go sit at the table and answer questions. The first time will be hard because you’ll be learning at the same time you’re answering questions. But it’ll get easier. Print out the FAQ from the website and bring them with you. Make sure to check the FAQ sometimes, because there are updates as we figure out other stuff people want to know.

• Write letters to the editor (LTE) of your local and regional newspapers - for both bad and good articles or media pieces.

Letters are guest opinion pieces of about 250 words that allow you to offer a brief rebuttal to or support of an event or article. LTEs should be written in a timely manner ideally 24-48 hours after the original media piece comes out. More than one person can send in an LTE, in fact we are more likely to get an LTE published if multiple go in. Watch the press pages of the website or your local/regional papers and write specifically to articles that the publication has released as well as to pieces on the Occupy Boston press site that haven't been addressed by your local/regional paper.

Check with the paper’s limit on the number of words. Write about your feelings about why the Occupation is important to you. If you live or work in Boston or own a business in Boston, specifically if it’s near Dewey Square, be clear about how you feel about the Occupation being in “your neighborhood”. We’ve had people write in and tell us that they love having a “new community center”, and local business owners have said that it’s been great for sales, because of all of the visitors.

See other detailed Letters to the Editor Suggestions.

• OTHER REMOTE VOLUNTEER DESK/COMPUTER Research and Organizing tasks.

Please write to occupybostonbos@gmail.com to get things you can do to help right from your own home! If you're not afraid to talk to strangers and feel like doing some phone work, please mention this when you write.

[[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AptokJEriOTvdHpYcGVwem5IM19Fa3hHMnZ5VHJvZWc&hl=en_US Media, Photo/Video and Tech Spreadsheet For Assigned Tech and Media Volunteers ]]