Being a volunteer is a wonderful gift of your time for a cause or program that you believe in. The WCYR is always on the lookout for new and returning volunteers. Whether you can donate a half-hour of your time to help set up before a seminar/workshop, can help in a “virtual” or “digital” capacity according to your own schedule, or want to dive in and be apart of what makes this community tick, we’d love to have you!
After you’ve reviewed both the summary and full descriptions of each available position, please contact our Board Chairs, Gary & Mit, and let us know how you’re interested in helping out. 🙂
SUMMARY of TEAM POSITIONS – Board Members
Free membership after 6 months.
Board Chair: This position is available to anyone who has volunteered as either a Member at Large or for a Board position. It is the Chair’s job to organize a board meeting once a month, put together an agenda, act as moderator to ensure all voices are heard, and ensure that the “gears” of our organization continue to run smoothly. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Treasurer: This position requires competent knowledge of bookkeeping and is open to any WCYR member. It is the Treasurer’s job to track what money is being spent where, and to ensure that when a payment needs to be made, it is done on time (either by you or another team-member with approval). It is important to make sure that we are not overreaching our spending. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Secretary: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is the secretary’s job to attend all board meetings held once a month, take detailed notes during the meeting according to the agenda presented, then write up the minutes of the meeting and initiate conversation around when the next meeting will be set. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Program Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to invite speakers to talk at our seminars and workshops (8-9 per year), to arrange a location for the seminar to take place, and to “take care of” our guest’s needs (e.g. set the date with them, confirm what their talk will be about, arrange for their cheque and thank you card, see that they have all the equipment needed for their talk, welcome them on arrival and thank them afterwards). Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Membership Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to track the payment of new and returning members, see that they receive their “welcome package”, and provide updates at board meetings regarding current member numbers, and to present/develop initiatives for bringing in new members. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Special Opportunities Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to keep an up-to-date list of readings or book-selling opportunities and make this list available to any interested members. They provide monthly updates in our newsletter for what’s coming up and produce brief blogs/posts on those events we’ve participated in. They also arrange for special discounted or free opportunities whenever possible. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Promotions Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It’s their job to promote WCYR events, activities and opportunities using social media and public relations tools. Their goal is making writers, libraries and potential members aware of the array of the community’s offerings. Has Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION.
SUMMARY of TEAM POSITIONS – Members at Large
Free membership after 6 months.
Board Advisor: This position is reserved for the past Board Coordinator to help the Board transition to new leadership and provide insight into past workings/decisions. Has tiebreaker Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
The WCYR Privacy Officer: This position will be a conduit for any queries or complaints about website privacy from members or visitors to www.wcyork.ca and periodically review WCYR activities to assure all are consistent with our established Privacy Statement and Terms & Conditions of Use. As necessary, the Privacy Officer will highlight any privacy concerns reported or discovered to the Board of Directors and assure Privacy Statement & Terms & Conditions on the website are updated to be consistent with actual WCYR activities. No Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Publicity Representative: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is the PR’s job to take our monthly press release about our seminar/workshop (and special events) and spread the news to designated online resources and local libraries. No Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Social Media Leader: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to develop and execute a strategy to communicate effectively with current members and attract new members. The leader coordinates memes and posts with Social Media Assistants to assure high WCYR visibility without overburdening individual contributors or media audiences.
The leader will also coordinate with the Public Relations Rep, Seminar-Workshop Coordinator, & Special Events Coordinator to spread the word about WCYR events via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. This volunteer also runs initiatives to help engage members, potential members, and friends of the WCYR in online discussions. No Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Social Media Assistant: This position is open to any volunteer or member of the WCYR. It is their job to execute specific components of a Social Media strategy to communicate effectively with current members and attract new members. The Assistant coordinates memes and posts with the Social Media Leader to assure high quality memes are delivered and posted in a timely manner. No Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Newsletter Manager: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to take care of the “news-related” emails we receive and put together a weekly email using Mail Chimp which highlights upcoming seminars, workshops, member announcements, library announcements, contest listings, etc. for which the various members send/contribute information. No Board voting rights.
Graphics Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It’s their job to create impactful graphics for social media or website messages. No Board voting rights.
Webmaster(s): This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to maintain the background workings of the WCYR website. They make sure hosting payments go through on time, that our server stays up and running, and troubleshoots the creation of pages and plugins as needed. No Board voting rights.
Youth Group Leader: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to organize our “youth” division of writers, who meet once a month. This volunteer keeps a database of members (free to join) and sends out an agenda, prompt, and reminder for the meeting time/place/date, and ensures the smooth flow of each meeting. No Board voting rights.
Special Events Coordinator’s Assistant: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to help the main Special Events Coordinator fulfill their obligations and to help organize strategic external events. No Board voting rights.
Special Events Aid(s): These positions are open to any member of the WCYR. Special Event Aids contribute behind the scenes on various special projects (The Bookshelf book fair, The Symposium writers’ conference, etc.). No Board voting rights.
Program Coordinator’s Assistant: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to help the main coordinator at seminars, keep an eye out for new potential speakers, organize the submission and selection process for member-run workshops, and coordinate the Farmers Market booth. No Board voting rights. CLICK HERE for FULL DESCRIPTION
Membership Coordinator’s Assistant: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to help the main coordinator at seminars and with occasional, minor, paperwork behind the scenes. No Board voting rights.
Blog Editor: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is the Editor’s job to proofread any and all necessary blog posts, as well as create content (whenever possible) and assess/approve submissions for the “paid blog” option (open to members-only). No Board voting rights.
Hospitality Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to purchase the snacks and bring the bins of coffee/tea/condiments/pots to each seminar once a month and oversee any Day-Volunteers helping with set-up/take-down before and after. No Board voting rights.
Library Liaison: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to build a relationship with the York Region (and surrounding) Public Libraries to ensure frequent dialogues with their coordinators regarding upcoming events, workshops, seminars, etc. from us to them AND them to us. Connect interested Librarians to the Assistant Seminar/Workshop Coordinator to arrange member-run seminars/lectures/workshops in conjunctions with the WCYR at various library locations. No Board voting rights.
Magazine Manager: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to organize the running of the (proposed) WCYR Magazine “Easy Writer”. This would include working with the Magazine Aid on finding/collecting articles & getting in contact with writers of blog articles for permission to print/publish in the Magazine. They will work closely with the Design Layout/Graphic Designer for the overall look of the magazine, and see to the printing/distribution. No Board voting rights.
Magazine Aid: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to help the Magazine Manager decide content for the magazine, which articles to reprint from the blog, which new articles to look for, advertising to the membership the need for paid writers, the existence of the magazine, and to oversee any Support Aids helping organize the magazine. No Board voting rights.
Magazine Layout/Graphic Designer: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to compile the advertising graphics, articles, table of contents, Chair’s Message, etc. into a distributable digital & print quality magazine.
Volunteers Coordinator: This position is open to any member of the WCYR. It is their job to maintain and build a list of current, past, and potential volunteers for the many wide and varied positions which require filling — both on a long-term and short-term basis. They act as a liaison between the Board and volunteers to ensure that no one is being taken for granted or taken advantage of. They may develop initiatives to encourage new/continued volunteering and make certain that all volunteers are shown our appreciation for their dedication and help.This position includes integrating a High School Outreach initiative. No Board voting rights.
Contest/Grants Coordinator: The Contests/Grant Coordinator will administrate the WCYR grants and organize/curate contests that members may want to enter. It will be the job of this coordinator to reach out to the membership and sisterships of the WCYR to find judges willing to help narrow down grant qualifiers, and to make sure that each participating judge receives a package of grant submissions to evaluate. Once the evaluations are complete, they will organize the reveal of the winners in conjunction with the Special Events Coordinators. As for the contests, this coordinator will work to honour existing contest partnerships, look for new partnership opportunities, and work toward developing WCYR-specific contests with the aid of the Special Events Coordinators. No Board voting rights.
SUMMARY of TEAM POSITIONS – Volunteers
Raffle Organizer: This position is open to any member of the WCYR who enjoys shopping for and crafting simple prize packages for our seminar/workshop/meetings. While this person is often also the team member who sells the raffle tickets, if there is a conflict of events or you are not anticipating staying for an entire seminar/workshop/meeting then the Programming Coordinator will assist in finding another team member to perform this aspect of the job. No Board voting rights.
Lending Librarian: This position is open to any member of the WCYR who is willing to transport our select but growing library of writing resources, and store this library at their home between monthly seminars. They will keep track of which books are in the travelling library and who has taken which ones out — being sure to email borrowers if the book is out of circulation past the agreed upon date. No Board voting rights.
YouTube Channel Manager: This position is open to anyone, and will report to the Program Coordination Team. You will need a familiarity with YouTube in order to set up and maintain a WCYR channel with “private” and “public” video settings. As online seminar, tutorials, and events are recorded, you will receive a clean, edited video to post on this channel, and will be asked to include a short description of the contents of the video. you will supply the Programming Team with a dedicated link for the organization to share with event participants, and will track and respond to any comments that are left on the page. No Board voting rights.
Seminar Day-Helpers: This position is open to anyone and is an ever-expanding job for multiple members who are interested in helping set-up/take-down on the day of a seminar, workshop, or social. You may be asked to help with organizing the tables if we are in the Newmarket Library, or aid in setting up our eats & treats & beverages, or possibly even greet arrivals at the door if we are short-staffed for the day. Not all helpers are able to come to every seminar and therefore we encourage you to put your name forward for consideration for when you are planning to attend. No Board voting rights.
The Bookshelf Event-Day Helpers: This position is open to anyone. One day a year the WCYR holds our giant book fair, The Bookshelf, and we require at least a dozen volunteers to help with a variety of things from: set-up/take-down, to guiding vendors to their tables, to manning the beverage station, or helping out in the Kids Zone with crafts/characters, to soaking up the sun in the marketplace helping spread the word about the event, and telling marketers about the readings by the Story Pod. Every volunteer receives a “thank you” gift for dedicating their time to our event. No Board voting rights.
The Bookshelf Core Volunteers: These positions are open to anyone. The organization of such a big event requires dedicated long-term volunteers to help behind the scenes with a multitude of tasks leading up to the day of the event. These positions include: Event Coordinator (grand overseer and organizer of affairs), Sponsorship Coordinator (the finder of donations both monetary and prizes), Vendor Coordinator (official invitation sender and liaison for all participating vendors), Webmaster (to keep our website in good working order and make sure all our links and the “back end” continue to work as necessary), Volunteers Coordinator (who tracks interested Event-Day volunteers and looks for new ones each year), Readings Coordinator (tracks which vendors are interested in participating in our outdoor readings at the Farmers Market and conducting a draw for reading spots if necessary), MC for the vendor readings by the Story Pod in the Farmers Market (keeping the readings running on time on Event-Day). No Board voting rights.
Open Mic Master of Ceremonies: This position is open to anyone. Approximately the third Sunday of each month, from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. at Cardinal Press Espresso Bar (formerly Covernotes Cafe) in Newmarket, the WCYR holds an “Open Mic Readings” event for which we require a variety of volunteers to take turns being the MC. Duties include tracking participating readers (on the afternoon of the event), drawing their names for the order of their readings, announcing and thanking the readers for joining us, scheduling a break mid-way, and thanking Cardinal Press for hosting the event. No Board voting rights.
Elections Officer: The Elections Officer’s job will centre on helping organize the upcoming elections, in conjunction with the Secretary, this March. This is a one-election position with minimal time commitment. Once the elections are over, the responsibilities of the Elections Officer will end. In 2020, with the next elections, the previous Elections Officer may be reached out to, but is under no obligation to be the Officer again. No Board voting rights.
Critique Group Coordinator: The Critique Group Coordinator will speak with and help with organizing members into one or more critique groups via the use of the forum for in-person or online meetings. If there are too many members interested in joining one critique group, the Coordinator may split it as necessary. The Critique Group Coordinator will keep a database of the Groups sponsored by the WCYR and their membership. No Board voting rights.
Farmers Market Representative: The Farmer’s Market Representative will coordinate with the Assistant Program Coordinator or the Program Coordinator. They will liaise with the Farmer’s Market organizers, help with the set up and tear down of the booth on market days, and ensure that an adequate number of WCYR members are able to run the booth each week. No Board voting rights.