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Surprise Arts presenter Luis outlines volunteer program, seeks about 50 recruits in year one
Summary
Surprise Arts staff introduced a volunteer program to expand event staffing and community outreach, reporting about 40 orientation attendees so far and a year-one goal near 50 volunteers. The plan includes training, background checks, purple ambassador shirts and two volunteer tracks.
Luis, the presenter for the Surprise Arts volunteer program, told the Arts and Cultural Advisory Commission on April 1 that the program will rely on volunteers as “ambassadors” to expand the organization’s footprint and gather candid community feedback.
Luis said volunteers will serve in two primary tracks — public-event volunteers and Surprise Presents volunteers — and described duties ranging from greeting and wayfinding to ushering and parking-concierge tasks. “They’re basically our ambassadors,” he said, emphasizing training, preparation and safety for unpaid volunteers.
Staff reported that nearly 40 people attended an initial volunteer orientation and that about 10 no-shows are expected to attend a follow-up session on April 10. Luis said most volunteers live in Surprise, with some traveling from nearby cities and some interest from student groups. "We had pretty close to 40 people," he said, noting a year-one target of roughly 50 volunteers.
The onboarding flow described to commissioners is: website application, orientation, a background check (which the presenter said costs money) and then a welcome packet once checks are completed. Commissioners raised the need to confirm applicants in person before ordering background checks to avoid unnecessary expense; staff agreed to that approach.
Volunteers will receive a handbook at orientation explaining specific duties, shifts and expectations. The program will provide purple polos so volunteers are identifiable as the event "purple ambassadors," and staff asked commissioners to help recruit and direct people to the volunteer sign-up on the website.
Commissioners suggested partnerships with the Surprise Youth Council and local schools to broaden recruitment. Luis said he would follow up on those ideas and on providing commissioners with periodic demographic information about volunteers.
The commission took no separate vote on the volunteer program at the meeting; staff said additional operational details (scheduling, final volunteer count targets and any funding for background checks) will be finalized as the program moves from orientation to active shifts.
Next steps: staff will continue orientations, manage background checks for confirmed recruits and report progress to the commission at a future meeting.
