Large festivals and events can create a huge mess for the clean-up crew. Most of the trash, including recyclables, ends up in the landfill. But there is hope!
Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Tara Redavid, who works on music tours, television productions and events around the country coordinating recycling and environmental initiatives.
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Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
Most recently I used VolunteerSpot for The Country Throwdown tour, Vans Warped tour and Harvest of Hope Festival. Every day, we have 20 volunteers, in 46 cities around the country, helping us divert recyclables from landfills.
How did you get started as a volunteer leader?
The Warped Tour rewards the most environmentally friendly bands, crew and sponsors with an eco-adventure. In 2007, I was working on the thetruth.com tour and won the trip for some of the programs I created at my sponsor set up.They invited me back in 2008 to assist Erin Gorski in running the eco-program. I took it over in 2009. For the rest of that year, I worked on similar events and projects including The Country Throwdown tour (I successfully taught Montgomery Gentry to recycle!) and The Harvest of Hope festival.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
Don't get burnt out. Know that while you can't fix everything, as my dear friend Phillipe likes to say, "everything you do makes a difference".
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
The person who had my job previously spent months coordinating volunteers, creating spreadsheets, sending reminders and follow up emails, etc. I did not have the patience and knew there had to be an easier way. I literally spent days trying out every free trial of volunteer coordination software I could locate. I'm not joking when I say I tried dozens. I happened on VolunteerSpot during the Beta phase and it was exactly what we needed. The ability to export volunteer lists with contact information, simple navigation, and the ability to manage volunteers easily, including easy sign up links. It's the best volunteer organizing platform that exists. Over the past two years it has saved me hundreds of hours of work.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Not to brag, but our bands,crew, volunteers and fans diverted over 30,000 lbs of recyclables (on average over 700 lbs a day) from landfills this year. In addition, we are currently working with the producers of The Cove encouraging more pressure on the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help stop the dolphin slaughter in Japan. The petition will be delivered to the president in November. Tell five friends.
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For more information about creating sustainable events, greening your business, or reducing your impact on the environment, please contact: [email protected]
Or visit Country Throwdown, Warped Tour, or Incredibly Green
We salute Tara and all the other activists out there trying to make a difference. 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].
