Volunteer Guide

1. What the app does

This app is how the parish coordinates volunteers for festivals like St. John Fest and Oktoberfest. You can:

• Sign up for shifts at booths (food tents, gaming, parking, setup/teardown, etc.).
• Submit applications for booths that require them (e.g. alcohol-serving booths).
• Sign up your spouse, kids, and other household members in one place.
• Manage your schedule (view, cancel) and your applications all from your account.
• Check in on the day of the event by scanning a QR code at your booth.
• Receive assignment notices, shift reminders, and event-wide announcements by email.

You'll mostly live on four pages:

These are all in the top navigation bar once you're signed in. If an admin makes you a booth captain or a setup/teardown crew lead, you'll also see a Booth Captain and/or Crew Lead button in the nav — see section 13.

2. Creating your account

2.1 Sign up with your email

1. Visit the festival site and click Sign In in the top-right corner.
2. In the popup, choose Sign up.
3. Enter your email and create a password.
4. Check your inbox for a verification code and enter it in the popup.

That's it — your account is created. You'll be redirected to the Complete Profile page automatically.

2.2 If you were invited by a family member

If a Head of Household has invited you (typically a spouse), what happens next depends on whether you already have an account:

• If you don't yet have an account → you'll receive an email with an invitation link. Click it to open a sign-up form prefilled with your invited email.
• If you already have an account with that email → sign in as usual. No new email is sent; you'll see a Household Invitation modal asking you to Accept or Decline.

3. Completing your profile

After signing up you'll land on the profile completion page. You must fill in the required fields before the app will let you go anywhere else.

3.1 Required fields

• First name & Last name — usually prefilled from your account.
• Date of birth — used to enforce age-restricted booths (e.g. alcohol service).

3.2 Declare your affiliations

The same page also asks how you're connected to the parish and school — check any that apply, or just leave them all unchecked if none do, and they save along with the rest of your profile when you click Save & Continue. (There's no separate "none" button; an empty selection is a valid answer.)

• Declare any that apply: Parishioner, School Parent, or Student (Student asks whether it's School or Religious Education; Student and School Parent can't both apply).
• Each one you declare is submitted for admin approval and shows a Pending badge until approved. Some booths require an approved Parishioner affiliation, and some are no-students.

3.3 Optional but recommended

• Phone number — how the festival organizers reach you on the day of the event.
• Preferred contact method — tell organizers how you'd like to be reached: No preference, Email, or Phone.

3.4 Government ID (optional)

If you plan to sign up for any alcohol-serving booth, you'll eventually need a government ID on file. You can add it now or later from My Profile.

You'll be asked for:

• ID number
• Issuing state
• Expiration date
• A photo of the ID (front)

Photos are stored in a private bucket — only you and parish admins can see them.

3.5 Setting up your household

After saving your profile you'll be offered a second step: Want to sign up family members too? You can either:

• Set Up Household — you become the Head of Household.
• Skip for Now — you can come back via My Household anytime.

If you were invited to an existing household, this step is skipped — you're already linked.

4. Managing your household

"Household" is the app's way of letting one person manage volunteer signups for their whole family. Think of it as a folder that groups related profiles together.

4.1 Roles inside a household

4.2 Creating your household

1. Open My Household.
2. Click Create Household.
3. Give it a name (e.g. "The Smith Family") and click Create.

You're now the Head of Household and can start adding people.

4.3 Adding someone you'll manage (children, anyone who won't sign in)

1. On My Household, click Add Family Member.
2. Pick the Add Without Account tab.
3. Enter their first name, last name, and date of birth.
4. Optionally declare them a Student (choose School or Religious Education) — this is submitted for admin approval.
5. Pick the relationship (Spouse/Partner, Child, Parent, Sibling, or Other).
6. Click Add Member.

The dependent appears immediately. When you sign up for shifts, you'll see them as a selectable option in the signup dialog.

Email is optional for these members — leave it blank if they won't have their own login. Add it only if you might invite them to manage their own account later.

4.4 Inviting an independent member (spouse, adult relative)

1. On My Household, click Add Family Member.
2. Pick the Invite With Account tab.
3. Enter their email, name, and relationship.
4. Click Send Invitation.

Use this person's own email address. If they don't have an account yet, they'll receive an invitation email with a sign-up link; if they already have an account, no email is sent — the invite shows up in the app the next time they sign in. A couple of limits: they can't already belong to a household (yours or anyone else's), and you can only have one pending invite per email at a time — let it expire or hit Revoke before sending another. If the person is already in your household as someone without a login, don't re-type their email here — use Send Invite on their row instead (see 4.5). Until they accept, you'll see their entry as Pending Invite with Resend and Revoke buttons.

Once they accept, they show up as a full member and can manage their own schedule.

4.5 Editing, inviting, or removing a member

• Edit — change name, DOB, their Student affiliation (submitted for admin approval), and relationship.
• Invite to their own account — for someone you added without a login, click Send Invite on their row to let them claim their own account and manage their own schedule (they become an independent member).
• Remove — takes them out of your household. You cannot remove yourself.

5. Browsing events

5.1 The home page

Visit the homepage at any time. You'll see:

• Featured event card — the next upcoming event, with an overall capacity bar plus per-day count tiles.
• More upcoming list — other published upcoming events (the featured event is shown separately). See all events for the full archive.
• Past events — up to three recent past events, with a link to view all past events.

5.2 An event page

Click an event card to see its description, dates, capacity grid, popular booths, and FAQs.

5.3 The shift browser

When signed in, click Browse shifts on an event page to see every booth (signed-out visitors see Sign up to volunteer instead). Switch between three views — By Booth, By Day, and By Category — or use the search box and the Student-friendly only / No age requirement filters to narrow things down. Each booth card shows badges telling you the rules at a glance:

After you click a booth, the detail panel may also show an ID Required badge if government ID must be on file before you can sign up.

5.4 Helping with setup & teardown

If the event needs help before or after the festival, the browser shows 🔧 Help with Setup and 🧹 Help with Teardown panels near the top (and a By Day view lists the setup/teardown days). These shifts run within a time window — when you sign up you can pick the specific hours you're available within that window, rather than a fixed slot.

6. Signing up for a shift

6.1 The signup flow

1. From the shift browser, click a booth to open its slot list.
2. Click a time slot — the Confirm Sign-Up dialog appears.
3. If you're the Head of Household, use Who is this sign-up for? to pick Myself (default) or any household member.
4. Review the slot details (date, time, location). For a setup or teardown shift, pick the start and end time you can work within the posted window.
5. Click Confirm Sign-Up.

You'll see a green success toast confirming the signup, and the slot will show a Signed Up ✓ badge with a Cancel button.

If you're a Head of Household, right after you confirm you'll get a Sign Up Family Members? prompt so you can add other household members to the same shift in one tap.

6.2 Eligibility checks

If any check fails, the Confirm button is disabled and a message tells you why:

Inline ID prompt

If the booth requires ID and you don't have one on file yet, the signup dialog will show an inline form so you can add it right there. For independent household members, they'll need to log in and add their own ID from My Profile.

6.3 Slot states

• Slot Full — every spot is taken. Try a different slot or check back later.
• Applications Closed — the application window for this booth has closed.
• Closed (event level) — shown on past events. Future events that aren't open yet show Upcoming.

7. Booth applications

Some booths — typically high-responsibility ones like the beer tent — require an application before you can sign up.

7.1 How to tell

You'll see the Application Required badge on the booth card. In the slot list, slots show Apply First; on the booth detail panel, click Submit Application.

7.2 Scheduling modes

7.3 Filling out the application

Click Submit Application on the booth. The form typically includes:

• Question responses — text, yes/no, date, number, dropdown, or a signature.
• Shift preferences (admin-assigned booths only):
  • Preferred Shifts (rank up to 3) — 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
  • I'm willing to work multiple shifts with Preferred total hours.
  • I prefer all shifts on the same day and I'd like to be scheduled with my spouse.
  • Additional comments for special requests.

Government ID is collected during profile setup or from My Profile, not on the application form itself. ID-required booths check for ID when you sign up for a shift.

Submitting on behalf of a household member

If you're the HoH and want to apply for someone else, use the Applying for selector on the application page (choose their name instead of Myself). The member selector on My Applications is for viewing only — it doesn't start a new application.

7.4 Application statuses

7.5 Changes Requested

When an admin asks for changes:

1. You'll receive an email summarising what they want updated.
2. A yellow banner appears at the top of every page.

Click Make changes & resubmit in the banner, make your edits, and click Resubmit Application. The banner disappears and the status returns to Submitted.

7.6 After approval

• Self-serve booth → A "Browse Shifts" link appears on My Applications. Sign yourself up like any other booth.
• Admin-assigned booth → Wait for the admin to assign you. The shift will appear on My Schedule. You can update preferences in the meantime.

8. My Schedule

My Schedule lists your upcoming (non-cancelled) shifts. By default you see only your own shifts; if you're the Head of Household, you can switch to view everyone. Pending-approval and waitlisted shifts may also appear.

8.1 Filtering by household member

If you're a Head of Household, use the Viewing schedule for selector at the top:

• My Schedule (default) — only yours.
• All Members — everyone's shifts.
• <Member name> — just that person.

8.2 Shift cards

Shifts are grouped by date. Each card shows the booth, time, location, a badge (Confirmed or Assigned), and a Cancel button. If you have shifts for more than one event, use the event filter at the top.

8.3 Cancelling a self-serve shift

1. Click Cancel.
2. Confirm in the dialog (Yes, Cancel Shift).
3. The shift disappears and the spot reopens.

Immediate and can't be undone — but you can sign up again if the slot is still open.

8.4 Cancelling an admin-assigned shift

The dialog tells you: "You will be returned to the assignment pool." After cancelling, your application flips back to Approved (unassigned). Visit My Applications → Update Preferences to tell the admin your updated availability.

9. My Applications

My Applications is the dashboard for everything application-related.

9.1 Layout

Applications are grouped by event (most recent first). The event name appears in each group header. Each row shows the booth, a status badge, and an action link. Admin-assigned booths also show an Admin-assigned shifts note; self-serve booths have no scheduling-mode label.

9.2 Household member view

Same as My Schedule — use the Viewing applications for selector to switch between My Applications, All Members, or a specific member.

10. My Profile

My Profile is where you update things that can change over time.

10.1 What you can edit

• Phone number — day-of contact.
• Preferred contact method — No preference, Email, or Phone.
• Date of birth — in case of a typo at sign-up.
• Affiliations — declare or withdraw Parishioner / School Parent / Student as you graduate or enroll. Changes are submitted for admin approval; already-approved affiliations are locked (contact an admin to change one).
• Government ID — number, state, expiration, photo.

10.2 What you can't edit here

• Email — shown read-only. Click Manage email addresses to open the account drawer.
• Name — managed through your account settings (click the avatar → Manage account).
• Approved affiliations — you declare affiliations yourself, but an admin approves them; once approved they're locked here (contact an admin to change one). Pending and denied ones you can still edit or re-declare.

10.3 Government ID details

• Allowed types: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF. Max 8 MB.
• Each upload replaces the previous photo.
• Only you and parish admins can view the photo.
• An expired expiration date blocks saving ID info, but signups only check that an ID number or photo is on file — keep your expiration date current.

11. Notifications & emails

The app sends transactional emails for key events:

11.1 Choosing what you're notified about

If you help run a booth, event, or setup/teardown crew, you can subscribe to sign-up activity alerts. Open the page you help manage and flip the Notify Me of Changes toggle — you'll then get an email when volunteers sign up or cancel there.

Manage everything in one place from the Notifications card on My Profile: your subscriptions are grouped by event (All activity, Setup & teardown, or a specific booth), each with an On/Off toggle and a remove button.

11.2 "On behalf of" emails (dependents)

Dependents don't have their own login. When the app needs to notify a dependent, the email goes to the Head of Household with a subject prefix like: [On behalf of Susie Smith] Your shift has been assigned

11.3 Not getting an email?

1. Check your spam folder.
2. Mark it as "Not Spam" so future ones come through.
3. Verify your profile email matches your inbox.
4. Contact a festival admin if still missing.

12. Checking in on event day

On the day of the event you check in by scanning the QR code posted at your booth (or at the setup/teardown station). It's quick and lets your captain know you've arrived.

12.1 How to check in

1. Point your phone's camera (or a QR scanner) at the code posted at your booth or the setup/teardown area.
2. If you're not already signed in, you'll be asked to sign in first — check-in is tied to your account.
3. If it's within your shift window, you'll see Ready to check in with your shift details. Tap Check In.
4. You'll see You're checked in! — that's it. (For a group signup it shows Party of N.)

12.2 When check-in opens

Check-in opens shortly before your shift starts (about 15 minutes, and each event can adjust this) and stays open until the shift ends. Depending on timing, the page shows one of:

13. Booth captains & crew leads

If an admin assigns you as a booth captain (for a booth) or a crew lead (for setup/teardown), you get day-of management tools built right into the app. When you're signed in, a Booth Captain and/or Crew Lead button appears in the top navigation.

13.1 Booth captain tools

Click Booth Captain in the nav. If you captain a single booth it opens straight to it; if you captain several, you'll first see a Your Booths picker — choose one and click Open booth view.

Your booth dashboard lets you:

• See the day's shifts on a timeline colored by how full each one is (red needs volunteers, green is full). Pick a day, then tap a shift to open its roster.
• Check volunteers in and out — Check In, Check Out, and No Show, plus Edit to correct a recorded time. (Volunteers who checked themselves in by QR are locked — only an admin can change those.)
• Add walk-ups — click Add Walk-Up, enter a first and last name (phone optional), and choose to check them in now, at a set time, or just add them to the roster.
• Remove a volunteer from a shift.
• See volunteer details — contact info, party size, and a Walk-up badge for anyone added on the spot. Sort the roster by name or check-in status.
• Switch booths, Refresh the data, and turn on Notify Me of Changes for email alerts when volunteers sign up or cancel.

For booths that require an application, you also get an Applications tab to review your booth's applications — Start Review, Approve, Request Changes, Needs Verification, or Reject. To protect volunteers' privacy, captains can't see an applicant's date of birth or government ID and can't delete applications — those stay with admins.

13.2 Crew lead tools (setup & teardown)

Click Crew Lead in the nav to open your crew dashboard. It works like the captain roster, but for the event's Setup and Teardown shifts: view each slot, check volunteers in and out, add walk-ups, and enable Notify Me of Changes.

14. Frequently asked questions