After Your First Shift

Thank you for working your first shift and serving your community! Now that you’ve gotten some orientation and seen the tool library in action, here’s some more information on how to get more involved and continue volunteering.

Scheduling your shifts

After their very first shift, volunteers are in charge of scheduling themselves for all future shifts.

Sign up for shifts on our scheduling spreadsheet by putting your name down in the “Shift Volunteers” column for whenever you plan to come in. If you have a change of plans after signing up and can no longer make that shift, all you need to do is remove your name.

There’s no such thing as “too many volunteers” on a shift – there’s always more work to do. Just sign up for whatever works for your schedule! And avoid working more than one shift per week; it’s easy to get burnt out on volunteer work.

Slack

Slack is the platform where Capitol Hill Tool Library staff have discussions and make plans. Since we’re all volunteers and are never all in one place, online communication is essential.

You should’ve received a Slack invite during your first shift, but if you didn’t then just text or email the staffer who you originally talked to.

Here is more information about our Slack and its channels.

Expectations

Volunteers working shifts are expected to be present for as much of the shift as possible, and are expected to serve patrons or work on tool library initiatives.

You are expected to be proactive; try to stay productive by identifying and taking on useful tasks. Taking some downtime to rest, eat, chat, etc is absolutely encouraged, but if you find yourself feeling aimless then ask your fellow volunteers to suggest some tasks.

If you have signed up to volunteer during a shift, you should not be working on personal projects during that shift. (Feel free to come in during any other shift though!)

Ways to get more involved

Routine shift volunteering

The tool library is only available to our community because of shift volunteers. Most regular volunteers work 1–4 shifts per month, which enables us to be open for so many shifts per week.

Once you work 5+ shifts, you’re eligible to get door codes to the tool library so you can come use the space and inventory whenever you’d like.

Teaching classes

In addition to the workshop and inventory borrowing, our third main offering as an organization is free skill-building classes. Check out our calendar and the #events-and-classes Slack channel to see what volunteers have taught over the years – everything from sock darning to 3D modeling to tax filing to woodshop introduction.

If there is a domain that you’re interested in and knowledgeable about, we’d love to have you teach it to the community. Start a conversation on the #events-and-classes Slack channel and you will get help with scheduling and marketing, and we can figure out how to purchase whichever equipment/materials you need to run the class!

Larger projects and admin roles

Read more about those opportunities!

Questions?

Ask on Slack! Even volunteers who have been around for years are constantly learning, so no need to be shy if you need clarification on anything or want to learn more.

We also have documentation on how shifts are run. If you’re someone who learns best by reading, then dig in! Otherwise, you can learn on the job.