Title: St. Luke’s Children’s Holiday Shop Lead
Purpose:
Holiday Shop provides a place for children to shop for Christmas gifts for their family and friends. Kids through age 12 can purchase great gifts at discounted prices ranging from $0.50-$7.00. This is a safe shopping experience where kids can shop by themselves or with an adult volunteer. After shopping, volunteers wrap the gifts so that they are ready to go under the tree when they get home.
Responsible to: Director of Servant Ministry
Shop for gifts (and organize other shoppers to do the same)- need 400+ gifts, total
Price gifts (and explain to other shoppers know how to do this)
Organize gifts in the loft (our storage area)
Advertising (Chronicle, bulletin, Little School, Sunday School, community, church website, etc.)
Sit at the Holiday Shop table between services during all Sundays in November, or organize
volunteers to do this
Organize 25-30 volunteers for the Holiday Shop weekend
Be at the shop on the Friday-Tues of the first weekend in December
Make deposits of funds after each day of the Holiday Shop
Time Requirements:
In January, 1-2 hours a week for wrapping up December’s profits, donating the money from profits, writing a Chronicle article to tell how HS went, phone calls to stores to check on current discounts, shopping for gifts, organizing volunteers to help with shopping, organizing new gifts into the loft
In February, 2 hours for the month to continue shopping and pricing gifts, organizing the loft, tracking the number of gifts to make sure that we have enough and don’t get more than we need or can afford
September, 3 hours for the month- attend the Ministry Fair to recruit volunteers and pass out information. Before hand, prepare an information sheet and volunteer sign-up sheet.
In October, 2 hours for the month to organize volunteers to sit at the HS table between services each Sunday in November, turn in a Chronicle article so that it runs in the November issue, get information sheets and volunteer sign-up sheets ready to use at the HS table on Sundays, prepare to advertise in various places.
In November, 2 hours per week to call or e-mail volunteers that signed up at the Ministry Fair to see if they are still willing/able to help, sit at HS table on Sundays (or make sure that other volunteers are there to do this), if other volunteers are sitting at the table on Sundays: make sure that they have everything that they need for the table (table, tablecloth, pens, info. sheets, sign-up sheet, poster), at end of month: call all volunteers to ask what job they would like to have and what shift they are able to work.
In December, over the first full weekend:
Friday: 4 hours for set-up
Saturday: 6 hours (organize volunteers for the morning, HS hours, clean-up)
Sunday: 5 hours (organize volunteers for the morning, HS hours, clean-up)
Monday: 1.5 hours (sit at HS for Little School- take money)
Tuesday: 4 hours (sit at HS for Little School, take money, pack up remaining gifts to
donate or take back up to the loft)
You can choose whether or not you would like to open Holiday Shop for Little School.
It also takes an additional 2-3 hours over the weekend to add up the money, make deposits,
etc.
Term:
As long as you want it, but when you decide to have someone else take over, they should do so in December so that they are ready to start buying gifts in January.
Training and Resources:
You can shadow me through the process for a year and take over some of the duties with me. This would involve about a 4 hour time commitment in January and in February. It’s about another 2 hours in October and 4 hours in November. In December, you would need to be available for most of the Holiday Shop weekend.
Skills and gifts:
Communication (e-mail or phone and in person)
Recruiting skills (standing at the HS table in November to recruit volunteers)
ORGANIZATION
Love being with kids
Leader
Bargain shopper
Good at delegating
Flexible schedule (e.g., you have to hit Target the first day that clearance is at 75% off)
Enjoy being with other adults
Not afraid to tell other adults where to be and what would be helpful for them to do
Benefits to one serving in this role:
I have met so many people in this role. I especially enjoy the fact that many of the people who volunteer for HS do not have young children. Since I spend most of my time at church interacting with people downstairs (through Sunday School, choir, etc.), I don’t meet many people that do not have young children. Holiday Shop gives me the opportunity to change that! Also, it is such a wonderful experience to watch children shop for their families all by themselves. They feel so proud of themselves and are so excited to tell you what they got and what special person they got it for. I also hear so much feedback from parents saying that the Holiday Shop makes things so much easier. They know their kids are with safe adults while they shop and are getting amazing deals on great gifts.
Completed by/date:
Amy Antinoro
January 16, 2009