Ride for Kids Volunteer Request

[SideCar]

Calling all volunteers! (volunteers can still register and ride the ride which is what I do)

Thanks for your help throughout the years. We're hoping to have your help again this year.

Only a few days until our eighth annual Ride for Kids to help kids with brain tumors. It's this Sunday, October 3rd! VRCC has always been a big part of our all volunteer army that has over 70 job descriptions to be filled in order for our ride to be everyone's best experience in a charity ride this year. Please come out and help us help the kids!

"Day of Event Volunteers" include riders as well as motorcycle friendly non riders. You may volunteer and still do the ride. Those that don't ride are encouraged to stay for the Celebration of Life after the ride, around 11:15am so they can enjoy the time with these special kids.

Each volunteer needs to attend a short training session. You have two training dates from which to choose - Thursday evening, Sept. 30th, 7:30pm, or Saturday morning, Oct.2nd, 10am. Training will take no more than an hour and a half. Both meetings are held at the host hotel, Springhill Suites Grapevine, 2240 W. Grapevine Mills Circle, Grapevine, TX 76051.

If you haven't already replied to an email about training, would you please hit "reply" and let us know what size volunteer t-shirt you would like and which training session you plan to attend?  It's ok if the training session you attend changes, but we're trying to get a headcount for each training meeting. This does not apply to escorts and parking volunteers. They have already been accounted for.

If you are attending the Saturday training and you are able to stick around for about 45 minutes to help stuff lunch bags we would sure appreciate the help. No hair nets required. The big payoff will likely be one of George's cookies to taste test!

In that same grass roots volunteer spirit we would ask you to please bring someone that has not been to a Ride for Kids and The Celebration of Life before. This is absolutely the best way to ensure we are increasing the awareness of kids with brain tumors as well as growing our event year after year.

Here is a link to an electronic poster we would encourage you to pass along to others... http://jlphotos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Ride-For-Kids/DallasFWFullcolor/951505583_yt8VQ-X2.jpg

Also, we would like to share another first. Our local ABC affiliate, Channel 8, is doing a segment during their morning show, Good Morning Texas, on Wednesday, September 29th between 9 and 10am to highlight our event and raise awareness. Tune in or record the show to support some of our locals volunteers as they hit the big time for the kids!
 
Thanks so much for stepping up to help these kids and their families fight the good fight against brain tumors. And as always, please forward this note along to anyone that might have an interest in volunteering and/or doing the ride. We look forward to seeing you soon!

[Wanderer]

Hitting "Reply" worked in the e-mail version. Leave a response, contact Gary or me, or just show up at one of the training meetings mentioned in Gary's post above. You really will have a good time! Out of towners more than welcome. Frank "Spoiler" Jenson will be coming to help again this year. Hope to see you soon! ~Jeff

[godfire]

Glad that I am not there. This maybe a great cause, but I would never volunteer again.
Two years ago I did and it was a disaster. The national leader was a total jerk! I would not work for R4K again until he is gone.

[RainMaker]

Counterpoint:

I have volunteered before and always enjoyed the interaction with the national folks from R4K as well as my fellow VRCC members.  

Anyone can have a bad day, but the day itself is always great for the cause and that's the reason we're there, right?

[Disco]

Sorry you had a bad experience, Jim.  My first year to volunteer was 2 years ago and they broke me in gently by having me between the parking lot and tent confirming that forms were filled out and signed.  Last year, I was planning on helping line up bikes in the parking lot before being relegated to [begin edit] Club Affiliation it was actually Dealership Affiliation - wow, those percosets can sure prevent the embedding of memories! - [end edit] (while sitting...) in the tent.  Post-Event, I especially appreciated the phone call I received from Jerry Harvey thanking me and the VRCC overall for the time and effort put forth to help make the '09 R4K a success despite bad weather and a poor economy.  

Not sure which task I'll fulfill this year, but I'm looking forward to it...   

[SideCar]

Jim, I hope all is well up north in the new town and job.  I'm really sorry to hear this. I'm sorry you're not around to talk about it in person, but I very much appreciate the feedback. It's important to hear it when something goes wrong.  I'm a volunteer, too, and if I felt like you did and couldn't straighten it out with that person or organization, I would think hard about continuing to help them. I sure wouldn't get out of bed early to help if I thought I was being mistreated.  I haven't personally gotten that feeling from the folks sent to our ride, but I admit that I might overlook something in trying to help these kids.  I am sorry you got put off.  I understand people aren't perfect and things can happen that you wish didn't.  I'm all too frequently the one who is the offender (most of the time unintentionally) and I am always grateful when someone lets me know I've been a jerk so I can try to fix it.

If it was two years ago, that was the first year for Disco as well and I know the guy from the foundation you're talking about pretty well.  Knowing him, I feel confident that it must have been a miscommunication or something going wrong in the moment that caused a terse reply or whatever offended.  He's good people with a real servant's heart and would have defnitely wanted to set things right if he had known.  Even now, I would still like to help set things right between you two and I'm sure he would as well.   

This entire effort to save these kids relies on volunteers like you and me and the folks from the top to the bottom of the PBTF foundation know that and place a very high value on treating volunteers right and keeping it fun for us.  Although the ride managers get pulled in 100 directions in the same time during the ride, if they knew they had offended a volunteer (or participant), they would jump at the chance to straighten it out.  I know that is particularly true about the guy that is sent to the Dallas ride. Stressed out - yes. But, really a good guy who very much appreciates the volunteers and as Disco said, goes out of his way to show that gratitude. 

 I know it isn't something that can be fixed on the board, but if you would like to discuss it with him and give him a chance to straighten things out, I'll definitely make that happen.  Just shoot me your phone number by PM and we'll make the connection.

We're very fortunate to have had so many Valk riders volunteer and participate and have good experiences, but if anyone else ever has a problem like Jim, please let me know at the time and let's sort through it. Like I said, the staff there is very interested in treating the volunteers and riders right and wouldn't ever want to send folks away unhappy if they can help it.  The Texas VRCC and the Ride for Kids have built some great history together already and I hope it continues to be that way even if there have to be hard conversations at times. 

Thanks to Jim, Mark and David for your comments. Jim, PM me if you're up for mending fences.  Totally up to you.  I hope all our volunteers and riders have a great time Sunday. The weather is looking great and these kids need our help.  Pleae let me know if issues arise (especially if it's me putting my foot in my mouth again) and we can do the Barney Fife thing - "nip it in the bud".

Looking forward to riding the new northern roads with you, Jim.

Gary

[chauffeur]

Jim, I too am very sorry to hear about your experience.  It is extremely unfortunate when things like that happen.   

In retrospect, I am particularly impressed by your ability to put it aside and support the VRCC club fund raising activities related to RFK earlier this year.  I know the impact it had on me when you announced to the Club that we "were expected to be there" for the Poker Run.     

We have been RFK volunteers for the last three years, and will volunteer again this year.  Our previous experiences have been similar to those posted by Mark and Dave.   Very positive and personally rewarding. 

Again, sorry to hear about your experience.