Volunteer

Food & team tent coordinator

This year you will shadow Emiko Bigler to learn the process and take over for the next school year ‘24-’25 (with help from the board).  In this volunteer position, you will be the heart of the team.  By fueling and nurturing each rower you will ensure they can compete to the best of their ability.  By bringing parents together to support our rowers you will be creating the East Grand Rapids Crew team family.  It is a lot of work, but it is also very rewarding. 

Prior to each regatta you will be responsible for: 

• creating menus within guidelines set by the coaches

• organizing food purchases and advanced preparation

• creating a Sign Up Genius for parents to volunteer cooking, serving, cleaning, and managing the tent between meals 

The day of the regatta you will be responsible for:

• transporting food to the regatta

• organizing tents, tables and cooking equipment set up and breakdown
• managing parents who volunteer to cook, serve, clean, and manage the tent between meals 

Food tent volunteer

At each event we provide breakfast, lunch and snacks for your children as the events are long and they burn up energy competing. A signup will go out before each event for you to help provide our rowers with food.  Examples of jobs will be cooking and freezing main dishes in advance of regatta, setting up tents and equipment the morning of the regatta, cooking, cleaning and keeping food supplied between meals. We need every family’s help in order to provide for our rowers and to prevent the same families from doing all the work and burning out.

Travel coordinator

This year you will shadow Mary Valentine to learn the process and take over for the school year ‘24-’25.  You will be responsible for securing hotel blocks, bus quotes for team travel & making restaurant reservations for Head of the Charles and Nationals team dinners.  Most of the work occurs off season during the summer and winter.

Propane tank exchange

Refill/exchange propane tanks and return full tank to trailer by Thursday before regatta

Frequency:  Up to 3 times per season

Water jug refill

Refill 6 -8 water jugs by the Thursday before regatta

Make cold brew for each Regatta

2 gallons of concentrated cold brew and 1 gallon of ready to drink cold brew are required for each regatta.  This job consists of brewing and straining cold brew and delivering it to the food tent coordinator or bringing it yourself to the regatta.  If you bring it yourself, it needs to arrive during tent set up so it can be heated up in time for the rowers’ breakfast.  Directions and supplies will be provided.

Team dinners

Volunteers will prepare and serve a meal to the rowers at the boathouse as a bonding event. You will be asked to organize the event, preparation of the menu, as well as aid in setup and tear down.

Make parent name tags

When you are at a regatta it’s hard to figure out who is on your team and which rower they are there to support.  We make waterproof magnetic name tags for those parents who want them.  You will be responsible for creating, printing, and assembling name tags.  Supplies and a template will be provided.

Senior banners

We love our seniors and want them to get all the recognition they deserve for their hard work.  You will be responsible for getting large banners made for each of them.  You will work with the team photographer and team captains (to decide outfit/theme which should be consistent for fall and spring).  Information for where to get them printed with be provided and banners should be ready as close to the beginning of each season as possible.

Banquet coordinator (junior parents)

Organize fall and spring team banquets and coordinate volunteer recognition as well as send-off for team seniors and outgoing board members.

Parades – Homecoming & 4th of July

Organize with the school and city to have a float in the parade. Organize with team captains to have rowers participate.  In years past the rowers have decorated the boat trailer holding a couple boats and or ergs, rowed on the ergs while being pulled and walked next to the trailer and thrown candy. 

Parent/novice Liaison

Remember when you went to your first Crew parent meeting and had no idea what any of the information meant?  You can help the new parents become a part of our great community by becoming a novice parent liaison.  You'll be one of the people new parents can reach out to when they have questions.   You can help them sign up for Slack, tell them what the line up numbers mean, how to find the team tent at a regatta, the hack of getting a hot breakfast sandwich if you sign up to make breakfast.