Pre event
Volunteer Information Pack
After you have been registered and assigned your volunteer shift, you will be sent a Volunteer Information Pack via email or by post.
Included in your pack should be:
- a Position Description,
- a shift confirmation sheet,
- a Volunteer Handbook,
- a map of your working location/s,
- as well as additional information about your awesome new role.
Training Session
A number of training sessions will be held in the weeks prior to the Oxfam TRAILWALKER Melbourne event. You will be notified of the need to attend a training session when your shift is confirmed.
PLEASE NOTE: Past Volunteers - if your role requires training it is important to attend to ensure you are up to date with all current procedures and new information. Even if you've attended training sessions in previous years you may still be required to attend to ensure you are fully prepared for your role.
At the training you will be provided with an overall view of the event and specific details of the requirements of your role. The sessions are designed to be informative and will make your assigned tasks during the event easier to perform.
If you have questions, please ask them here to ensure you understand your role, where you need to be and how you will be of assistance to participants, staff or other volunteers.
Attending the briefing will ensure that you also receive your volunteer t-shirt, which is yours to keep, and is the mandatory uniform for the Trailwalker weekend. If you are not able or not required to attend training, your t-shirt will be made available at the start of your first shift.
All training will take place at the Oxfam Australia Office, Level 1, 132-138 Leicester Street, Carlton VIC (Melways Ref: 2B D9 – see map below), and should last no longer than an hour.
During the event
Cheer on participants and lend encouragement. Your support will get them through the toughest of times. Enjoy the community atmosphere, meet your fellow volunteers and have fun!
Photo: Tim Heraud/OxfamAUS
What to Bring
1. Mobile Phone
Please make sure you bring a mobile phone so we can contact you in case of emergencies. Make sure you charge it before you leave home!
2. Volunteer Shirt
Bring your volunteer t-shirt – it’s the mandatory uniform for the weekend. You’ll either receive one at the training nights in March, or when you arrive for your shift.
3. Wear Layers
Please be aware of Melbourne’s unpredictable weather; play it safe and bring a raincoat, umbrella, sunhat, sunscreen, beanie etc – rail, hail or shine, the show must go on! Autumn nights are particularly chilly on the course, so please rug up and bring layers – you might want to select items that you can layer underneath your vollie shirt, but are easy to strip off should it warm up.
4. Volunteer Information Pack
Also remember to bring your Volunteer Information Pack. It is vital for Trail Marshals to bring their specific position description
5. Get Comfortable!
Think about things that will make you more comfortable in your role. For example, trail marshals should bring a fold out chair, snacks, torch, book etc for quieter periods.
Remember to rock up!
No shows are not cool, especially when our walkers are counting on you to guide their way in the dark, massage their aching limbs, or present their certificates and cheer for them as they pass the finish line.
Every one of the 1100+ volunteer shifts over the weekend are ESSENTIAL to the success of the event overall, so the more we can mitigate the number of no-shows or cancellations, the easier it will be on the Event weekend to manage any incidents or issues that crop up as a result of a cancellation.
However, we do understand things happen! Let us know ASAP if you can not attend your shift. The more notice in days/weeks you give us, the easier it will be to get someone in to replace your shift.
Contact TRAILWALKER staff at the Oxfam Office anytime in the days leading up to, or worst case scenario, on the day of the event (refer to the Control Centre contact number on the back of your Handbook) – we will appreciate your honesty much more than an 'invisible Trail Marshal'!
Photo: Veronica Lew/OxfamAUS
Getting there
You will need to arrange your own transport to and from your shifts.
Check out www.whereis.com.au to map your route to your shift location.
Public transport is near impossible for the locations along the trail, but try your luck with car-pooling by networking at the briefing sessions in March, or post a message on our Facebook or Twitter pages.
On the job
- When you arrive for your shift make sure you check in. If you are working at or from a checkpoint please notify the Checkpoint Coordinator. If your shift starts at the Control Centre let the Volunteer Coordinator know you are there.
- Make sure you arrive for the shift on time. Remember to bring the map from your Volunteer Information Pack to help you find the way.
- An ID tag will be given to you when you arrive and check in with the Checkpoint Coordinator or Control Centre staff for your shift – please wear your tag, along with your volunteer t-shirt, at all times. For each new shift, you will require a new tag.Please return your Oxfam lanyards at the end of your shift.
- If you have any problems during your shift please see the Checkpoint Coordinator at your checkpoint or the Volunteer Coordinator at the Control Centre. Contact details for on the day are provided in your Handbook.
Photo: Tim Heraud/OxfamAUS
Eating
We couldn’t do this event without you – and you deserve to be looked after during your shift! Please help yourself to the basic provisions at the checkpoints. In 2010 these included tea, coffee, muesli, cup-a-soup, noodles, chocolate and fruit.
Every volunteer working 12-2pm or 6-8pm will receive one meal during their shift. Breakfast supplies are available at the Checkpoint - just help yourself.
Please plan for your shifts with any other volunteers in your area - and take note if you are in a remote area and may not be able to have a break/visit the toilet easily.
Photo: Veronica Lew/OxfamAUS
Sleeping
There is dorm-style accommodation available near the Finish if you are keen to bunk up for a proper sleep before the long drive home, or between shifts. If you would like to book a bed please contact the Volunteer Coordinator on 1800 088 110. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag, pillow and towel.
Photo: Veronica Lew/OxfamAUS
