I Am A:
Volunteer Opportunities
Are you interested in doing your part to carry out the work of the NFB of Virginia? There are hundreds of blind and low vision children, youth, working adults, and seniors who would benefit from your spirit of community service.
There is no age requirement to be a positive force in our movement. Young adults will learn valuable skills that can be transferred to a wide range of career interests. Seniors enjoying retirement will find ample space to hand down their wisdom and expertise. Everyone in between will find a variety of ways to share their time and talents at whatever pace makes the most sense for their schedules.
Best of all, you can invest your time in the comfort of a supportive community that will mentor you and ensure you have a rewarding experience.
Interested in raising your hand?
Scroll through the list of current volunteer opportunities. A lot of the current listings will lean toward the upcoming state convention, but the state convention is only one facet of a year-long effort to meet the needs of Virginia's blind residents.
Don't see something you like? Email Tracy Soforenko to learn about other ways your skills and talents could be leveraged.
Complete the form below, and we will follow up with you about next steps. We are confident that if you are interested, there is a place for you in our organization.
Convention Registration Coordinator
Timeframe: August 2023 - November 2023
The state convention is our largest annual gathering of blind and low vision participants and related professionals. As you can imagine, it takes a small army of volunteers to make it a memorable learning experience, and one of the most critical points of contact starts with the registration process.
Responsibilities include:
• Work with the convention operations coordinator to collect and maintain a detailed list of all state convention participants, their contact information as well as meal functions and convention features they purchased.
• Develop an accessible system to match attendees with their registration purchases, including: general registration, convention activities, meal functions, and dietary requests.
• Prepare Braille and print registrant names for door prize drawings based on online submissions and on-site registrants
• Track meal tickets sold online and on site and notify the affiliate treasurer of those purchases, arranging for credit card processing and cash collection as needed.
• Work with the affiliate president to establish registration shifts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in time to have the information published on the convention agenda.
• Possess the proper poise to resolve issues of alleged missing tickets and other concerns as they arise.
• Work with the affiliate treasurer to track attendees being comped including: national representative, state or federal officials, convention sponsors, and other designees.
• Reconcile meal counts with the affiliate treasurer before and during the convention and design an internal ticketing numbering system.
• If using physical tickets, develop a tactile marking system to help participants easily distinguish between meal functions and activities. Also provide meal preference tickets for vegetarian options.
• Recruit assistants to help work the registration table for each designated shift.
Convention Meal Functions Coordinator
Timeframe: October 2023- November 2023
The state convention features at least three major meal functions, including the banquet on Saturday evening. Even though the primary duties of the meal functions coordinator will not fully be exercised until the convention begins, there are a few responsibilities this role can coordinate ahead of time to ensure a seamless ticket collection process at every meal function.
Responsibilities include:
• Work with the registration coordinator to understand the internal ticketing system ahead of the start of the event.
• Assign assistants to hand out box lunches as needed.
• Assign assistants to help collect tickets for at least two lunch functions and a banquet.
• Assign assistants to help direct general traffic toward the box lunch pickup point or toward the ballroom for banquet entry.
• Work with the registration coordinator to be in sync about meal counts and with the convention operations coordinator to address insufficient meal orders.
• Ensure special meal requests, namely vegetarian meals, are provided to the individuals who requested them.
Convention Sponsorships Coordinator
Timeframe: August 2023 - November 2023
Our state convention is a multi-day event when over 200 consumers who are blind, their families and friends, and professional service providers come together to gain information about living an independent life as a person who is blind or low vision. There are a number of ways in which an organization/company can partner with us to make our state convention a positive and informative experience for those attending, but we need someone to help raise awareness of our convention to potential sponsors.
Responsibilities include:
• Refine a list of tiers for sponsorship levels with ascending benefits.
• Leverage previous templates, or develop new materials, to help recruit sponsorship prospects serving the blindness community.
• Work with the convention operations coordinator to run the online registration form for interested sponsors.
• Engage in email and telephone communications to properly cultivate the stewardship of sponsorship prospects.
• Manage a team of exhibit hall volunteers responsible for the layout, table assignment, power outlet availability, and general promotion of the event.
• Work with the affiliate president and corresponding secretary to ensure speaking opportunities and marketing obligations are fulfilled in accordance with sponsorship level benefits.
• Provide the affiliate president a final list of sponsors for inclusion on the convention agenda.
Exhibits Manager
Timeframe: August 2023 - November 2023
Some sponsors will choose to staff an exhibit table on Friday afternoon of the convention as part of their sponsorship perks. The exhibit hall is an important forward facing activity that connects vendors with our membership. Bringing it together requires exceptional organization, attention to detail, and people skills to ensure it is a positive experience for persons on either side of the table.
Responsibilities include:
• Work in sync with the sponsorships coordinator to ensure exhibitors receive timely communication about their exhibit space.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for exhibitors to field questions about table assignments, arrival times, directions to the hotel and exhibit space, and other event logistics.
• Work with the convention operations coordinator to ensure last minute logistics with the hotel property.
• Create print and Braille labels to affix to each convention table for identification by convention participants.
• Provide a final list of exhibitors in a convenient directory available to convention participants.
• Identify assistants to help with the execution of the event.
Convention Hotel Contract Negotiator
Timeframe: August 2023 - September 2023
Each convention cycle begins years before the gavel drops. The hospitality market is always changing, and in order to secure the best rates for our affiliate, we have to lock in a contract far in advance. We are now in the process of finding someone to help close the deal on a convention hotel for 2025 and 2026.
Responsibilities include:
• Work closely with the affiliate president to identify the cities most advantageous for hosting a state convention in terms of membership recruitment, access to transportation, and access to local resources and potential partners.
• Develop a request for proposals that lists the essential needs for our state convention.
• Work through convention bureaus, central group reservations for major hotel chains, and local contacts to identify the hotel properties that can host a conference of approximately 250 participants. The property should feature sufficient ballroom space and breakout rooms to accommodate our convention agenda.
• Connect with the sales teams of the most promising properties to disseminate the RFP.
• Negotiate the best hotel room rates, food and beverage obligations, and meeting room rental fees.
• Narrow the search scope to the top three possibilities and share these with the affiliate president.
• Request a draft contract for the best hotel option and begin the process of modifying the agreement until a final draft of mutual satisfaction is obtained.
Website Editor
Timeframe: Ongoing
NFBV.org serves as the online hub for all NFB of Virginia communications. It often serves as the first introduction to the organization; therefore, we would like the information to be kept clear and up-to-date. Interested persons do not need to know HTML or possess technical knowledge.
Responsibilities include:
• Work closely with the corresponding secretary to ensure common areas of the website are routinely updated. Common areas include: the blog, chapter contact and meeting information, advocacy, calendar of events, and other spaces that do not directly fall under program supervision by a coordinator.
• Find creative ways to make the information accessible to diverse audiences.
• Ensure the information included on the website is actively shared on the affiliate's social media channels.
Membership Engagement Manager
Timeframe: Ongoing
People learn about and join the NFB of Virginia through a variety of mediums. This is great in terms of diverse outreach, but it creates a decentralized system that runs the risk of not following up with prospective members in a meaningful way. We’d like to make sure new and seasoned members are connected to the right chapter and division. You could be the perfect person to serve as this vital nexus.
Responsibilities include:
• Work with the membership chair to establish a cohesive membership record collection process.
• Set up a spreadsheet or comparable means of collecting contact information from social media, event registrations, publication mailing lists, White Cane lists, and other points of contact that could occur between the state affiliate and national office.
• Work with the affiliate president and corresponding secretary to develop a series of templates to welcome new members, guide them through the onboarding process, and connect them to their respective chapter and division as appropriate.
• Work with the membership chair and local chapter and division presidents to ensure membership contact details are kept up-to-date.