We love highlighting the great work of our VolunteerSpot users. This week we hear from Tommy Palmer of Lakeland Community Theatre in Florida.
Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
Lakeland Community Theatre has been delighting our community for more than 20 years. We put on five productions a year on our main stage; and for children, we offer two full theatre productions in the summer as well as camps and classes. Right now we are staging Macbeth and Hansel and Gretel.
We rely on volunteers for everything from front of the house, such as ticket takers, ushers, and concessions, to talent, lighting, sound, and stage production support. To give you an example of scale, for front of the house, each production can require up to 160 volunteer positions to make it work - that's a lot of coordinating. Many of our volunteers are parents of the children in the shows and folks in our community who are interested in seeing the arts in our community flourish.
How did you get started as a volunteer leader?
I started volunteering with the company 10-12 years ago. After sticking around for so long, I became the lead volunteer coordinator...funny how that works. I was also a Big Brother for several years with Big Brothers Big Sisters, until my 'brother' aged out of the program. During pledge-drive season, I volunteer with our local public radio station answering phones.
What advice do you have for people considering volunteering?
Do it! Helping out and getting involved gives back so much more to the community than the time you invest. Volunteering really builds community. I feel like I'm connected and part of this community as I haven't felt before.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
Our theatre is run by volunteers and we all have day jobs! I know juggling email messages and calling volunteers wouldn't work for me, so I started looking for online volunteer management tools. VolunteerSpot was the easiest volunteer software out there. We've used it for four shows now for ushers and concession stand volunteers, and will be expanding to box office volunteers and production support, like lighting, on our next production.VolunteerSpot compartmentalizes my volunteer commitment and reduces the overall time to coordinate folks. If it took longer, I couldn't volunteer as much; VolunteerSpot helps me be more involved.
Anything else you would like to add?
If you are ever near Lakeland, Florida, please come to one of our shows and enjoy the power of dedicated, talented community volunteers! Lakeland Community Theatre
We salute Tommy Palmer and all the volunteer heroes out there everyday making our communities better places to live! If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing, and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at [email protected].
