This autumn was our busiest yet with seven single day events in New York and New Jersey and three multiple-day conferences in Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

We started the season by helping a law firm with a client conference at the Harvard Club in NYC when they were short-staffed. Ten days later we moved downtown for the Autism Speaks to Wall Street Chef Gala to manage the check-in process and volunteers. Then, mid-October, it was time for the five New Jersey Light the Night Walks that take place on two simultaneous Saturdays. One of our biggest projects of the year, we started working on the logistics for these events back in March and were thrilled to see the growth in attendance and funds raised by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

This month, we executed two more of Public Interest Projects’ convenings, including our third for the U.S. Human Rights Fund and our first for the Elev8 middle school initiative, a conference that ends today. These events included booking travel for over 100 people each and coordinating meeting, meal and transportation needs.

None this would have been possible without the help of such a dedicated team. Now it’s time for the rest and recuperation that comes with the holidays and planning for 2012 events, including the 5th Annual Communities for Education Reform Convening.

What events are on your horizon?

On Saturday October 15^th, I was a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk in Princeton, NJ.  Approximately 2,500 people were on hand in Forrestal Village to walk with lighted balloons and help raise money for the fight against blood cancers. It was also a day of firsts for me as an event planning assistant: my first all-day event and my first outdoor event. It was amazing to see exactly what goes into staging and executing an event attended by so many people. The walkers did not start arriving until 4:00PM, but the day started hours earlier, with tent setups and positioning mapped out and assembly of the tent city beginning.  Once I oriented myself to both the map and the site, I was educated enough to start answering questions and helping out where needed.

Three things that I used during the preparations:  a box cutter, a generator for a 12-foot high light tower, and an Allen wrench.   Here is what I found out about being the on-site planner for an event of this magnitude: it’s all about juggling!

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society staff had a vanload of disparate items, ranging from  signs, food donations, carnations, and what seemed like a million cases of water that needed to be unloaded and distributed.  This is where the box cutter came into play – three of the signs that were supposed to fit into metal stands did not fit. I found a box cutter from one of the tent guys and went to work.  They sure fit by the time I was done (and I’m happy to report, no injuries!). Next came the Allen wrench – there were actually two of them used to assemble the site map stand. I was able to manage that fine, but not knowing where to put them so that we would have them at the end of the day, I held them in my pocket for the next 10 hours – and do you know how hard it is to use an Allen wrench in the pitch-dark? Thank goodness for the lovely volunteer with a flashlight app on her phone! Whatever help I was able to provide on Saturday, as rudimentary as it was, I was certainly not going to lose the Allen wrenches.

“All hands on deck” would be a great way to describe much of the day – help wherever you can. Unload boxes, unpack signs, tell volunteers where to go, keep track of all the vendors’ deliveries, learn how to operate the generators for the  light towers, hand out balloons , and clean up, clean up, clean up! The coordination of all the volunteers was a massive undertaking – you want volunteers there early, but what if the equipment they are going to use is late? I guess there’s never a worry of too many volunteers showing up, but you also don’t want people standing around with nothing to do.  The 40 mph winds didn’t deter us too much – thank goodness they died down by the time the walkers began arriving. The balloon task was definitely labor-intensive – well over 3,000 balloons were blown up, then had to be distributed individually – and the wire cords for the special light-up balloons did not get the memo about not getting tangled!

It turned out to be a wonderful, successful day, and a really inspiring event. Volunteers, walkers and staff were all so engaged and supportive of each other, and the atmosphere was so upbeat.  Aside from being completely exhausted and having my first case of “event headache,” I felt privileged to see and be part of such a great event, and to be able to truly appreciate all the work that goes into it.

Would you like to be added to our volunteer list for one of these events?

Saturday, October 15

Mercer County, Forrestal Village, Princeton

Morris County, Pioneer Park at Headquarters Plaza, 1 Speedwell Ave, Morristown

Saturday, October 22

Camden County, Riversharks Stadium, 401 N. Delaware Ave, Camden

Essex County, Verona Park, Bloomfield Ave, Verona

Monmouth County, Riverside Gardens Park, Red Bank

If so, email ginger@gingerdonnanevents.com the location that works best for you and look out for an email in early September with more information, including timing, roles and responsibilities!

BizBash, the industry’s premier source for event news and venue and vendor recommendations (and I’m NOT paid to say that, it really is), recently launched a volunteer board for event organizers to get the word out when they need a helping hand. As event planners to non-profit organizations, we often reach out to our network for committees or on-site assistance, and this alternate route for finding donated labor is a welcome addition.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a new graduate or a someone with 15 years experience under their belt, there are many professional reasons why you should be contributing to your community as a volunteer.

As an entreprenuer myself, I have learned that lunches, networking events and  memberships are all well and good in the marketing mix, but besides a personal referral, nothing beats donating my time to show a potential client how I can help them.  Every proposal is, in essence, a volunteer effort. A proposal is free and includes a mini-event plan, including a budget and a timeline. There have even been times when the event was scaled back, a potential client did not need my full planning services and I helped them on-site at the event anyway. The goodwill was paid back the following year when they DID hire me.

For those just entering the workforce, a volunteer assignment, particularly a long-term one, can be the key to that first job. Time spent learning the ins and outs of a non-profit organization, as well as developing relationships with key people there, can help you better understand a professional work environment and show that organization that you are committed to their cause. Recently, I had the chance to be a reference for a recent graduate who gave of his time to a non-profit committee and I’m thrilled to say, he got the job!

And for those of you overtaxed by years of working in the same industry, or even, the same job, volunteer work can be eye-opening. You may find that you want to take your career in a whole new route or you may find that you have an opportunity to contribute so much more than just your annual donation. Now more than ever, charitable organizations are in need of passionate leaders with skill sets learned in the corporate world since there is more demand for organizations’ programs and services and financial donations are just starting to bounce back.

So which organization are you calling today?