So You Want To Be A Volunteer?

Please read this entire page and fill out this application to be a volunteer, if you haven’t.

What we need in volunteers (Please see FAQ below for more details):

  • You must be reliable. Please show up on time for your volunteer times. (Usually, 30 minutes before, and ~10  minutes after. Some exceptions may be made with advance notice).
  • Show up. No show, no call, except in case of a true emergency, will have you removed from the volunteer list. Please give as much advanced notice as possible if you can’t cover!
  • Fulfill Duties. If you’re given a task, please complete it or let the volunteer lead or the organizers know you ran into problems.
  • Be in communication. Check with the lead volunteer or the organizers if there are any issues or concerns.
  • Follow the Rules of Consent. Please follow Cuddle Party rules with the volunteers and attendees of the events.

Why would I want to Volunteer?

  • Networking: you meet other people with a common goal and get to know them better.
  • Fulfillment. It can feel good to help out with something you enjoy. And you may find yourself more engaged and involved with the event as well.
  • Sense of Belonging. Be part of the group that helps events happen!
  • Fun. We have a blast, generally, and try to keep the work light and playful.
  • Insight. See how events get set up and what goes on to make them happen.

What Does an Emotional Support Person Do?
You hold space for people who might have strong feelings coming up and offer gentle guidance for grounding. We don’t offer therapy or medical advice. Please let the volunteer lead and/or the organizers know if you need help or if anyone is struggling.

What Does A Technical Support Person Do?  We have you run the room for the presenters so they can focus on their material and the audience. We ask you to:
– You must attend the pre-event meeting (held a few days before the event) or arrange other verification of your understanding of the tasks involved.
– Reach out to your speaker ahead of time and say hi. It’s wonderful to remind them of the time of their talk and provide their zoom link. We recommend inviting them to meet you in the Zoom room 30 minutes before their talk so you can get things setup.
– Make sure the presenter has good audio and video before the call.
– Ask them if they want to handle topic related questions in the chat or if you should “hold them” until the end? (Copy and paste is a great way to keep the questions together for Q&A).
– Answer any technical questions in the chat.
– Let people in from the waiting room per the guidelines for the workshop. (Some workshops don’t let people join after the rules are started, but people who lose internet connection can be let back in. Other workshops let people in any time.)
– Make sure to record the session! You must stay in Spotlight mode, and be sure to start the video. Please end the video when the class is over so we have less editing to do.)
– Please close the room for all when the speaker has left and people have had time to say goodbye (~10 minutes). This lets the next workshop setup easily.

Reasons for not being asked back as a volunteer person:

  • No call, no show for non-emergencies.
  • Repeated last-minute cancellations. (We often cannot fill the spot and someone else misses out
  • Not meeting volunteer requirements, (see above).
  • No available spots this time around. (We will be clear if it’s an ability vs a poor fit for attending).

What to Avoid: Please don’t ask questions that are answered here. Please do let us know if there are things that should be added to this FAQ.

The following FAQ is for volunteers of The Intimacy Dojo Virtual Events.

Volunteers are required to read the FAQ. Please read carefully and make sure you can meet the requirements before you offer to volunteer.

If you don’t meet the volunteer criteria, and money is an issue, there are limited scholarship and reduced-price tickets available.*

If you meet the criteria and want to volunteer, please email Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com and specify:

  • Which event(s) you’d like to volunteer at.
  • If you have any restrictions or needs while volunteering.
  • Your gender (while we don’t gender balance, we do try to keep some kind of parity).

We will get back to you and let you know if you’re accepted as a volunteer. We have limited spots allocated for volunteers.

Volunteering FAQ

How Do I Know If Volunteering For an Event Is Right For Me? Do you like contributing and having a fun time? Are you willing to pitch in and do the things that help make an event run smoothly? Some of them aren’t glamorous, and they all make a difference to the experience our guests experience. It really helps if you’re good at completing tasks, and like communicating… And good about being on time!

How Do Volunteers Get Selected? We have a set number of spots for events. We try to always include a couple of experienced volunteers who can help show new volunteers the ropes. We give priority to early requestors since we like to have things lined up early. And we consider things like the relative gender composition of the event, diversity and inclusion.

What Does A Volunteer Do? A volunteer helps us get set up and greet people, and does either emotional or technical support during the event. Volunteers take part in the events as a normal participant, but may occasionally be asked to do tasks during the event. Volunteers get free tickets to the event they are volunteering at.

What are the Volunteer Criteria?

1) Be Present For the Entire Event—You must be sober and unimpaired by drugs for the duration of the event. We keep our events unaltered so we can focus on consent. By volunteering, you agree to abide by this.

2) Abide By the Rules of the Event—Consent is very important at our events. As a volunteer, you agree to follow the rules of whichever event you are volunteering for. If it’s a Cuddle Party, you agree to follow the rules of Cuddle Party. If you are volunteering at a Play Party, you agree to follow those rules, etc.

3) Age Appropriate Volunteering—You must be 18+ to volunteer for Cuddle Parties and 21+ for explicit events like Play Parties.

Why Volunteer? Having volunteers lets us keep ticket prices more affordable by lowering our operating costs, and allows people who either enjoy contributing and/or might have trouble affording events, a powerful way to participate. You get to make a difference AND connect with amazing people!

Can Volunteers Participate In Events? Yes! We encourage you to! Most of the work of volunteering is done before and after the event. During an event, we might ask you to help with small tasks, like answering questions in chat, letting people in who are in the waiting room, etc. We want you to enjoy the event and get the most out of it, too. And, working together as a team, we can!

Is It A Lot of Work? We plan to have enough volunteers on hand so it isn’t tons of work for any one person. Volunteers have a lot of fun! There is generally lots of laughter, cooperation, networking, and big smiles.

I’m Trans, Bi, Older, Bigger, Etc., Can I Volunteer? Yes! We see you. We appreciate you. And we welcome you.

I’m Handicapped, Can I Volunteer? If we can accommodate your needs, we’re glad to have you help. Please contact Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com to discuss what your needs are and how we can help.

I’m in a different timezone, Can I still help? We often need help at different hours, and we’ll work with you if we can. Feel free to ask!

What If I Have To Cancel a Volunteer Shift? We do understand that life happens. And we rely on our volunteers to help events run smoothly and create a great experience for our guests. Please let us know as soon as possible if you can’t support an event. The more lead-time the better!

What If I Have To Cancel Last Minute? Please let us know as soon as you can. Be in communication, and don’t be embarrassed. It’s when you don’t let us know that it impacts us the most. Plus, we end up worrying about you! People who don’t show up, and don’t contact us won’t be considered for another volunteer spot for at least 6-months.

What If You Ask Me To Do Something I Don’t Want To Do? Cuddle Party Rules Apply… You are at choice with what you’d like to assist with and free to opt-out of any task at any time, just let us know so we can re-assign it to another volunteer. If you discover that you’re unwilling to do any of the normal volunteer activities, we reserve the option to not have you volunteer again. No hard feelings. The tasks that need gettin’ done should go to people who are a yes to doin’ ’em. 🙂

Can I Participate with the Guests? Yes! And Cuddle Party Rules Apply. Please do not use your position as a volunteer to try to influence people to play or engage with you. Be conscious of the implied status of being a volunteer and be conscious of people’s boundaries and how positions of authority can complicate consent dynamics.

Do I Have To Participate with Guests? No! Cuddle Party Rules Apply… Same with play parties, too! During events, you get to opt-in or out of participating in any activity and don’t ever have to do anything with anyone. Volunteers, just like attendees, are encouraged to change their minds.

What If Someone Makes Me Uncomfortable or My Consent Is Violated? Please tell one of the facilitators right away. It doesn’t matter if the person is a guest, volunteer, co-facilitator or host. We want to know! If you don’t feel comfortable telling anyone directly, you can email Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com or you can use our anonymous reporting system to inform us: TheIntimacyDojo.com/feedback/

What If Someone Says Something Racist, Transphobic, Homophobic, Sizeist, Ableist or The Like? If you feel up to it, we encourage you to speak up. We have a general philosophy of gently inviting people in and letting them know better options. Whether you speak up yourself or not, we ask that you let the organizers know. We want to follow up since we take this seriously and want everyone to feel as safe as possible in this space. You can email Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com or you can use our anonymous reporting system to inform us: TheIntimacyDojo.com/feedback/

What If Someone Reports That Their Consent Was Violated? Please tell one of the facilitators right away. It doesn’t matter if the person is a guest, volunteer, co-facilitator or host. We want to know! If you don’t feel comfortable telling anyone directly, you can email Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com or you can use our anonymous reporting system to inform us: TheIntimacyDojo.com/feedback/

I Have Privacy Concerns, Can I Volunteer? Yes. You are welcome to. We ask you to use a nickname in Zoom that will protect your identity and to be responsible for keeping your video off while recording is happening. If you don’t want your voice recorded, we’ll need to discuss which workshops you can support. Please email us.

Can I Hang Out After The Event? Yes and No. We sometimes chat for 10 minutes or so, but then we’ll tell you we appreciate you and kick you lovingly to the curb. 🙂 We ask volunteers to understand that the facilitators may be tired, and, for them, the event isn’t really over until everyone has left, volunteers included.

* For Scholarship and Reduced-Price Tickets: Please only request if the cost is a hardship to you. We have a limited number of tickets.

If you would like a scholarship ticket, please email Cathy@TheIntimacyDojo.com and specify what event you’d like a ticket to, and please say if you need a scholarship or if you can do a reduced price ticket. If you are asking about a reduced price ticket, please let us know what you propose to pay.

The earlier you request this, generally the better your chances of tickets being available.