Welcome to the volunteer page of the Rochester Children’s Book Festival.
So, you’re wondering, What Does a Volunteer Do?
There are three volunteer shifts: Snacks or Lunch provided
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A.M. 9AM – 1PM -
P.M. 1PM - 5PM
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All day – 9AM – 5PM
Volunteers check in 10 minutes before their shift to pick up a t-shirt and get their assignment.
Volunteers help to set up the book festival as well as clean up at the end of the day.
During the day there are a variety of assignments that you may be asked to do. Once assigned you will be responsible for that job for your entire shift. If you volunteer for the full day, you will be reassigned for the second shift. No matter what job you are assigned, you will have a fun time!
Duties include:
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Official greeter – hands out festival booklets as guests enter the building, pointing out different activities that are taking place throughout the day. You are our first contact with the public and a big smile is your key to a making this a successful day for everyone!
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Assisting LiftBridge Books in checking out book festival guests who have purchased books. If you’re a people person with good customer service skills, you’ll enjoy this job.
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Monitoring one of our presentation rooms where authors and illustrators give talks on a variety of subjects. You’ll not only introduce the presenter, but also greet festival guests and help get everyone seated in a timely fashion.
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Author/Illustrator Associate – for this job you need to be comfortable around crowds – the mall gets very busy throughout the day. You will monitor lines, assist the A/I’s in getting what they need and notify them when they are due for a presentation.
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Busy Bookworm Volunteers assist in the craft room, which gets very hectic at times. You will greet guests, monitor supplies, help keep tables tidy, and assist parents and children as needed. This is a fun place to be if you enjoy working with young children.
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Read To Me Corner – Greet authors as they arrive and introduce them to the audience. Help people get seated. Authors will read from their works but if he or she finishes reading before the next author arrives, you will read for brief periods.
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Hall monitors walk around and greet festival guests, help direct them to the different rooms, point out what presentations are taking place at different times. This is a great job if you love to interact with people.
Here’s what one volunteer had to say about her experience:
A few of my favorite things about volunteering for the book festival: It's fun, the time flies, and we're serving people who are happy to be there. The kids (and some adults) are so excited to meet the authors and read their new books – it's contagious! And it's been very rewarding to return each year and see how much the festival's grown within the few years I've been helping. The volunteers are one part of making it better and better.
Mindy Hillenbrand
Barbara Underhill in her "really bright T" in 2006