Cheers to Todd Cowless, Director of Stinky Spoke
Todd is a one-man team directing Stinky Spoke’s 18-mile bike ride in support of Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. Participants have to go in expecting the unexpected, but Todd ensures the best organization with VolunteerSpot!
Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
Stinky Spoke holds one event each year, and it's a mountain bike "poker ride.” Riders start and finish at Redhook Brewery and ride an 18-mile route on the local trails. We have a ton of volunteers at Redhook, plus at the support/card-stops along the route. At Redhook, it's registration/sign-in and packet handout, plus getting prizes in the hands of the people that come back with winning poker hands from the cards they've collected on the route.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
It's the place we send all volunteer inquiries to see exactly what the volunteer opportunities involve. Some are inside, some are outside, some early, some later. The potential volunteer can see what they're in for, then pick a spot, sign up and get the directions/maps plus all the particulars of when to be there and what they'll be doing.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
I had spent way too much time "dealing with wonderful people" in the couple years before this. In the last three weeks before my event, in my busiest time, people would come from all directions wanting to help (and wanting to communicate back and forth). It's fantastic, but very time consuming. I found out about VolunteerSpot as a solution to this - being a place to point all the awesome, helpful people to give the information without me having to do the back-and-forth of e-mails.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
For one, look for groups in your area that like to volunteer. Ask other event organizers. We had two or three groups of 6-8 volunteers that would show up and completely take care of a support stop, for instance. They were "pros," having done this for other events. They loved doing it.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?
My event is once per year, but the other non-profit we support – Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center is very volunteer-centric, using hundreds of volunteers every week. It's one of the largest equine-assisted therapeutic riding centers in the country, helping hundreds of kids and adults every week.
We salute Todd and all the other volunteers making a difference in their communities. Check out how VolunteerSpot’s Volunteer Software can save you time and stress and boost parent involvement in your school. Take a tour today!
