Volunteer Souvenir Staff Information

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps' Souvenir Staff! This season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in our history and we could use your help!

Why Volunteer for the Blue Stars?
The experience that we as a team (management, instructional staff, volunteers and alumni) offer the marching members of the Blue Stars is incredibly unique. Travel, performance, lifelong friendships, independence and leadership training are all parts of the experience that have helped build the Blue Stars as a world-leader in the Drum and Bugle Corps activity. None of this would be possible without a hard working and dedicated volunteer staff.

A typical day on the road with the Souvenir Staff:
As a member of our souvenir staff you are literally on the "front-lines" of promoting our organization. You will be stationed at each show we perform at in a position to sell our products to drum corps fans. There are several responsibilities that come with this important role, but the #1 expectation is that you have a solid understanding of what our organization is all about and what the sale of our products helps provide for our members.

The majority of our competitions will begin during the evening hours. Each event has its own policies on when the souvenir booths may be set up, operated and taken down. Typically the souvenir booths may be set 1-3 hours prior to the first corps performance and will be allowed to continue to operate up to an hour following the final corps performance. The souvenir staff coordinator will provide you with that information. When the booth is operating you will be selling our merchandize, taking an inventory of the items that have been sold, collecting money and providing the souvenir coordinator with all the funds that come in to the booth following each event. We will also sell our souvenirs at certain concerts and clinics that the corps performs. These schedules will be communicated by the souvenir coordinator and corps' management in advance.

Corps Performances:
The Blue Stars will perform over 50 times this season. As a touring volunteer you will be given a Blue Stars' staff pass, which will permit you to attend all Drum Corps International and Drum Corps Midwest shows free of charge. A system of assisting other corps' souvenir programs has developed over the years to allow each volunteer group the opportunity to view "their" corps. When other groups ask for our assistance we will do our best to provide them with that and they will return the favor.

Arrival at our new housing sites:
We will typically arrive at our housing sites sometime after midnight. This time could extend on into the morning hours depending on how far the corps is scheduled to travel on that particular day or night or how long the souvenir sales continue following each event.

Once the Blue Stars' convoy pulls into the parking lot, a member of the corps management will connect with a contact person from the housing site. You will be told by a member of the corps' management where the volunteer sleeping area is located. You are free to go inside, stretch out and get some much needed sleep. You will be woken up in the morning for breakfast and the souvenir coordinator will provide the new day's schedule.

How do I sign up?
We have an online volunteer application that you can fill out to let us know that you are interested. Here's the link: http://www.bluestars.org/support/volunteer_form.php Filling out this form does not officially commit you. Upon reading these applications the corps director will contact you regarding your availability. If you have any questions please feel free to email director@bluestars.org

Thank you again for your interest. We look forward to meeting you!