Volunteer Guide

1. What the app does

SJE Events is how the parish organizes its volunteers — for festivals like St. John Fest and Oktoberfest, and for programmes that run all year, like teacher lunches. With an account you can:

• Sign up for shifts at booths, and to help with setup and teardown.
• Donate items the parish needs, or take on a volunteer role such as a committee seat. Both earn service hours, just like a shift.
• Apply for the booths that require an application.
• Sign up your spouse, children and other household members from your own account.
• See, change or cancel everything you've committed to, and check in at your booth on the day.

Where things are

Donations, Roles and this Guide are open to everyone; the four My pages appear once you sign in. On a phone, tap the menu button (☰) — the first two are listed there as Item Donations and Volunteer Roles. Booth captains and crew leads also get a Booth Captain or Crew Lead button (section 16).

2. Creating your account

2.1 Sign up

1. Click Sign In in the top-right corner (on a phone, open the menu first).
2. On the Sign in to SJE Events page, click Sign up at the bottom.
3. Enter your email address and choose a password, then click Continue.
4. Enter the verification code we email you.

You'll come straight back to the site and be asked to complete your profile (section 3). After that, signing in from any page — a shift, a role, an item request — brings you back to the page you were on.

2.2 If a family member invited you

• No account yet? You'll get an invitation email. Its link opens a sign-up form for the invited address.
• Already have an account with that email? No email is sent. Sign in as usual and a Household Invitation window asks you to Accept or Decline.

3. Completing your profile

The first time you sign in, the app asks for a few details before you can go anywhere else.

3.1 Required

• First and last name — usually filled in from your account.
• Date of birth — used for booths with a minimum age.

3.2 Affiliations

Tell us how you're connected to the parish and school. Check any that apply — or none; leaving every box unchecked is a valid answer.

• Parishioner, School Parent or Student. Student asks whether it's School or Religious Education, and can't be combined with School Parent.
• Each one you declare goes to an admin and shows Pending until it's approved. Some booths need an approved Parishioner affiliation, and some don't accept students.

3.3 Recommended

• Phone number — how organizers reach you on the day.
• Preferred contact method — No preference, Email or Phone.

3.4 Government ID (Gaming booths)

Some booths, like Gaming, require ID verification under Indiana regulations. If you might work one, add your ID now or later from My Profile: the ID number, issuing state, expiration date, and a photo of the front. Booths that don't need ID never ask for it.

The photo is stored privately — only you and parish admins can see it.

3.5 Your household

Next you'll see Want to sign up family members too? Choose Set Up Household to become Head of Household, or Skip for Now and come back to My Household anytime. If you joined through an invitation, this step is skipped.

4. Your household

A household lets one person manage volunteering for the whole family.

4.1 Who's who

4.2 Create a household

On My Household, click Create Household, give it a name (e.g. "The Smith Family") and click Create. To rename it later, click the name at the top of the page.

4.3 Add someone you'll manage (children, anyone without a login)

1. Click Add Family Member and choose Add Without Account.
2. Enter their first name, last name and date of birth. Tick Student volunteer if it applies (School or Religious Education — sent for admin approval).
3. Choose their relationship — Spouse/Partner, Child, Parent, Sibling or Other — and click Add Member.

You can sign them up straight away. Their email is optional; add one only if they might get their own login later.

4.4 Invite someone with their own login (spouse, older teen)

1. Click Add Family Member and choose Invite With Account.
2. Enter their own email address, their name and relationship, and click Send Invitation.

• If they're new to the site they'll get an email with a sign-up link; if they already have an account, they'll see the invitation the next time they sign in.
• They can't already belong to a household, and you can have only one pending invitation per email address.
• Already added them without an account? Don't re-enter their email — use Send Invite on their row instead.
• Until it's accepted, the invitation offers Resend and Revoke — on the person's row, or in the Invitations card for someone not yet in the household.

4.5 Managing members

Each row in the member list offers whatever applies to that person:

• Schedule — opens their schedule on My Schedule.
• Edit — change a dependent's name, date of birth, relationship or Student affiliation.
• Send Invite — let someone you added without a login claim their own account. They become an independent member.
• Remove — take them out of the household. You can't remove yourself.

5. Finding events and shifts

5.1 The home page

• Welcome back — if you have shifts coming up, a bar at the top says how many and when the next one is, with a My schedule button.
• Banners — a green Now accepting item donations or blue Volunteer roles are open for sign-up banner appears when there's something to claim, and takes you straight to it.
• Event cards — every upcoming event that's taking sign-ups gets its own card, showing how full it is day by day. Click View event →, or Share with friends to pass it on.
• More upcoming and Past events — the rest, each marked Sign-ups open, Full, Upcoming or Closed. All events has the full list.

5.2 An event page

Below the description and dates you'll find:

• Days at a glance — how full each day is. A programme that runs on many dates shows a Sessions list instead (section 7).
• Popular booths and What to expect (the event's FAQs).
• Items needed and Volunteer roles for the event, when it has any.

Click Browse shifts to see every booth and shift. If you're signed out the button reads Sign up to volunteer, and goes to the same place.

5.3 The shift browser

From the top of the page down:

1. 🔧 Help with Setup and 🧹 Help with Teardown, if the event needs them (6.4).
2. Choose a session — only on a programme with several dates.
3. Items needed and Volunteer roles — ways to help without working a shift.
4. The booths, in three views — By Booth, By Day and By Category — with a search box and Available only, Student-friendly and No age requirement filters. On a phone, tap Filters.

Badges show each booth's rules at a glance:

6. Signing up for a shift

6.1 Signing up

1. Open a booth and click Sign Up on a time slot.
2. Heads of household: under Who is this sign-up for? choose Myself or a family member.
3. Check the date, time and location, then click Confirm Sign-Up.

The slot now reads Signed Up ✓ and the shift is on My Schedule straight away. Heads of household are then asked Sign Up Family Members? to add others to the same shift — or can use + Family Member on the slot later.

If the booth requires ID and none is on file, the dialog asks for it right there. A family member with their own login has to add their own ID from My Profile.

6.2 What the slot button says

6.3 Eligibility rules

• Age — you must meet the booth's minimum age, so your date of birth has to be on file.
• Parishioner — the booth needs an approved Parishioner affiliation.
• Students — a No Students booth turns away anyone with a pending or approved Student affiliation.
• One at a time — you can't hold two shifts that overlap.

6.4 Setup and teardown

Setup and teardown run over a time window rather than fixed slots. When you sign up, pick the start and end time you can actually work inside that window. The By Day view lists the setup and teardown days too.

7. Programmes with several sessions

Some events aren't a festival weekend but a programme — the same booths returning on many dates, like a monthly parish meal. Each date is a session, and one date can hold more than one (a brunch and a dinner, say). The rules are the same as any event; you just choose which sessions you'll work.

7.1 Finding a session

The event page lists its Sessions, each showing how many spots are open, or Full, Shifts coming soon (not posted yet) or Past. Click a session to open the shift browser on it. Inside the browser, the Choose a session row moves you between dates and takes you back to the full booth list, since a booth may not run every session.

7.2 Signing up for several at once

When a booth runs on several dates, the sign-up dialog lists its other sessions so you can add them in one go. The session you clicked is already ticked; tick any others you want.

• A session where the booth runs at different hours can't be ticked directly — click Choose a shift and pick one of its own times.
• Sessions you're already on, and full ones, are shown but can't be selected.

A summary — You'll join 4 sessions — lists exactly what you're booking, and nothing is saved until you confirm. Each session is booked separately: if one fills up in the meantime, the rest still go through and you're told which one didn't. To cancel several at once, see 11.4. Check-in works exactly as usual (section 15).

8. Donating items

Can't work a shift? Bring something the parish needs — snacks for the snack cart, paper goods for a dinner, prizes for a raffle — and earn service hours once the office receives it.

8.1 Finding what's needed

• Donations in the menu lists Needed at the parish (standing requests not tied to an event) first, then Needed for upcoming events, soonest due first.
• The home page shows a green Now accepting item donations banner while batches are open.
• Event pages and the shift browser list the items needed for that event or session.

8.2 Batches

Each request is split into equal batches, and you claim whole batches. If the parish needs 24 juice boxes in batches of 12, there are two batches, and each earns half of the request's credit. Every row shows what one batch is, the credit it earns, the due date and a status:

8.3 Claiming

1. Click Claim a batch (or Claim another batch).
2. If more than one is left, choose How many batches? — the panel shows the total you'll bring and the credit you'll earn.
3. Heads of household: under Who is this for? choose who gets the credit.
4. Click Claim a batch (or Claim 3 batches) to confirm.

It appears under My donations on My Schedule. If someone else claims a batch while you're deciding, you'll be told how many are really left — nothing is claimed until you confirm.

8.4 Dropping off and getting credit

Bring the items in by the due date. The office marks them received, and that's when the hours are credited. On My Schedule, My donations shows:

• Committed — the item, the amount, the due date, the credit it will earn, and Release.
• Donated — the hours credited and the date the office received it.
• Not received — the office recorded that the items didn't arrive, so no hours were credited. Their note is shown; get in touch if it's wrong.

Each batch is listed separately, so you can drop off two and release a third.

8.5 Changing your mind

Click Release on a committed batch and it goes straight back for another family — please do this rather than just not turning up. Once items are marked received, ask the office if anything needs correcting.

9. Volunteer roles

Some help doesn't fit into a shift: a planning committee, a coordinator, a driver. These are volunteer roles. You take a seat, do the work over a stretch of time, and the office credits your hours when it's done.

9.1 How a role works

• A role has a set number of seats, and every seat earns the same credit — 18 hours, say.
• It runs over a commitment window, like Apr 1 – Apr 30. There are no shift times; you fit the work around your own schedule.
• You can join any time before the window ends — including before it starts.
• One seat per person. Household members can each take their own.

9.2 Finding roles

• Roles in the menu lists Ongoing parish roles (not tied to any event) first, then Roles for upcoming events, grouped by event.
• The home page shows a blue Volunteer roles are open for sign-up banner whenever a seat is open.
• An event's own roles appear on its event page and in its shift browser — roles for one session only show on that session.

9.3 Reading a role

9.4 Taking a seat

1. Click Take a seat. (Signed out, it reads Sign in to volunteer, and brings you back here once you've signed in.)
2. The dialog shows the credit, the window and what the role involves.
3. Heads of household: under Who is this for? choose who gets the credit.
4. Click Take a seat to confirm. You'll see You're signed up!, and the role appears under My roles on My Schedule.

If something changed while you were deciding, the dialog tells you — for example, Someone just took the last seat. Try another role.

9.5 Getting your hours

Do the work during the window. When it's done, the office marks the role complete and credits your hours; until then it shows as committed, with the credit pending. On My Schedule, My roles shows:

• Committed — the window, the credit you'll earn, and Release.
• Completed — the hours credited and the date.
• Not fulfilled — the office recorded that the role wasn't done, so no hours were credited. Their note is shown; get in touch if it's wrong.

9.6 Releasing a seat

Can't do it after all? Click Release under My roles. The confirmation tells you how much pending credit you'd give up; click Release the seat, or Keep it. The seat goes straight back to the pool, and you can take it again later if one is still open.

• Anyone in your household — or whoever signed you up — can release it too.
• Once the office has recorded the role as done (or not done), you can't release it yourself. Ask the office.

10. Booth applications

Some booths — usually high-responsibility ones like the Biergarten — need an application before you can sign up. They're marked Application Required, and their slots say Apply First.

10.1 Applying

Open the booth and click Submit Application. The form asks the booth's own questions (text, yes/no, dates, numbers, choices or a signature). For a booth where the office assigns shifts, it also asks for your preferences:

• Preferred Shifts (rank up to 3).
• I'm willing to work multiple shifts, with your Preferred total hours.
• I prefer all shifts on the same day and I'd like to be scheduled with my spouse.
• Additional comments for anything else.

Heads of household can apply for someone else with the Applying for selector at the top of the form. Government ID isn't part of the application — it lives on My Profile and is checked when you sign up for a shift.

10.2 After approval

10.3 Application statuses

10.4 When changes are requested

You'll get an email, and a yellow banner at the top of every page — Your application for Biergarten needs changes. Click View Details → in the banner (or Make changes & resubmit → on My Applications). Your previous answers are filled in; update what the office asked about and click Resubmit Application. The banner disappears and the status returns to Submitted.

11. My Schedule

My Schedule is everything you've committed to — shifts, item donations and volunteer roles — in one place.

11.1 At the top

• Summary tiles — Upcoming shifts, Hours committed and Next shift. The next-shift tile turns amber when it's within a week; on a phone it becomes a Next up banner instead.
• Browse more shifts — back to the shift browser for the event you're looking at.
• Viewing schedule for (heads of household) — My Schedule, All Members, or one person. While you're viewing someone else, the page says so, with a link back to My Household.
• Event — if you have something at more than one event, this narrows the page to one. Donations and roles that aren't tied to an event stay visible whichever you pick.

11.2 Your shifts

Shifts are grouped by day, each with the booth, the time, the location and its status:

Finished shifts move to Past shifts.

11.3 Cancelling a shift

Click Cancel, then Yes, Cancel Shift (Keep Shift backs out). The spot reopens immediately, and you can sign up again if it's still free.

For a shift the office assigned you, the dialog warns You will be returned to the assignment pool. Your application goes back to Approved — tell the office when you're free with Update Preferences → on My Applications.

11.4 Cancelling several sessions

Booked for more than one upcoming session of a programme? You'll see You're booked for 4 upcoming sessions at this event with a Cancel several button. Tick the ones you can't make (or Select all), and click Cancel 2 shifts — or Keep My Shifts to back out.

• Sessions you've already checked in to are listed but can't be ticked.
• Each cancellation stands on its own: if one fails, the others still go through and you're told which.

11.5 My donations and My roles

Below your shifts, item donations (section 8) and volunteer roles (section 9) each have a section with three groups:

• Committed — claimed but not finished, with the credit it will earn and Release.
• Donated / Completed — credited, with the hours and the date.
• Not received / Not fulfilled — the office recorded that it didn't happen, so no hours were credited.

Each section only appears once there's something in it.

12. My Applications

My Applications lists every booth application, grouped by event, newest first. Each row shows the booth, its status (10.3) and what to do next:

Booths where the office assigns shifts are labelled Admin-assigned shifts. Heads of household can switch between My Applications, All Members or one person with Viewing applications for. That only changes what you see; to apply for someone, use Applying for on the application form (10.1).

13. My Profile

My Profile has four cards — Contact details, Affiliations, Government ID and Notifications. A summary panel shows how many of the first three are complete (2 of 3 profile sections complete) and what's left. Notifications isn't counted, because email alerts are optional.

13.1 What you can change

• Contact details — phone number, date of birth and preferred contact method. Click Save changes.
• Affiliations — declare or withdraw Parishioner, School Parent or Student, then click Save affiliations (this card saves on its own). Changes go to an admin for approval. Approved affiliations are locked; ask an admin to change one.
• Government ID — number, state, expiration date and photo (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC or HEIF, up to 8 MB). A new photo replaces the old one. A reminder appears in the 90 days before your ID expires, and an expired date can't be saved, so keep it current.
• Notifications — your sign-up activity alerts (14.1).

13.2 What you can't change here

Your name and email belong to your account. Change them with Manage email addresses under the email field, or from your account menu (click your avatar → Manage account).

14. Notifications & emails

14.1 Sign-up activity alerts

If you help run a booth, an event or a setup/teardown crew, turn on Notify Me of Changes on the page you manage to get an email whenever a volunteer signs up or cancels. Manage them all from the Notifications card on My Profile, grouped by event (All activity, Setup & teardown, or a single booth), each with an On/Off toggle and a remove button.

14.2 Emails for family members without a login

Dependents don't have a login, so their emails go to the Head of Household, with a subject such as [On behalf of Susie Smith] Your shift has been assigned.

14.3 Not getting an email?

1. Check your spam folder, and mark the message Not spam so the next one arrives.
2. Make sure the email on My Profile is the inbox you're checking.
3. Still missing? Contact a festival admin.

15. Checking in

When you arrive, scan the QR code posted at your booth (or at the setup/teardown station). It lets your captain know you're there.

15.1 How to check in

1. Point your phone's camera at the QR code.
2. Sign in if you're asked — check-in is tied to your account.
3. On Ready to check in, check your shift details and tap Check In.
4. You'll see You're checked in! A group sign-up shows Party of 4.

On a programme with several sessions, the app works out which session you're there for from the date and time, and names it on the confirmation.

15.2 When check-in is open

From shortly before your shift starts (about 15 minutes; each event can change this) until it ends.

16. Booth captains & crew leads

If the office makes you a booth captain or a setup/teardown crew lead, a Booth Captain or Crew Lead button appears in the menu when you're signed in.

16.1 Booth captains

Click Booth Captain. If you captain several booths, pick one from Your Booths and click Open booth view. From your booth's page you can:

• See the day's shifts on a timeline coloured by how full they are (red needs volunteers, green is full). Pick a day, then a shift, to open its roster.
• Check volunteers in and out — Check In, Check Out, No Show, and Edit to correct a time. Self check-ins by QR code are locked; only an admin can change those.
• Add walk-ups — Add Walk-Up takes a first and last name (phone optional) and checks them in now, at a set time, or just adds them to the roster.
• Remove a volunteer from a shift, and see each volunteer's contact details, party size and a Walk-up badge. Sort the roster by name or by check-in status.
• Switch booths, Refresh, and turn on Notify Me of Changes (14.1).

For booths that require an application you also get an Applications tab: 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.

16.2 Crew leads

Click Crew Lead for the event's Setup and Teardown shifts. It works like a captain's roster: open a shift, check volunteers in and out, add walk-ups, and turn on Notify Me of Changes.

17. Frequently asked questions