Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Middle New Hampshire Arts & Entertainment Center! Middle New Hampshire Arts & Entertainment Center is a dynamic, community-based organization, which thrives largely due to its significant and dedicated corps of volunteers. The Middle offers myriad volunteer roles, with a broad range of requirements in terms of skills, time commitment, and duration. For community members interested in supporting this growing nonprofit business and arts organization, there are plenty of opportunities to engage with us. Your help is most welcomed and appreciated!

Recognition and Reward

Service to a worthy cause is its own reward. While most volunteers find much personal and intrinsic value from volunteering--be that a professional/personal network, the opportunity for developing and exercising new skills and knowledge, the camaraderie with others committed to the same cause and vision--The Middle does provide a bit additional extrinsic value. Among the perks for volunteers are these:

• Recognition in the season program brochure
• Spotlight features of volunteers in Opera House newsletters, program books, and other media
• Discounts and special offers courtesy of participating Opera House partners
• Free admission to shows and events at which you volunteer
• 10% off all tickets purchased
• Opportunity for advanced ticket sales (and best seats) before sales to general public
• Invitation to annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet Click here to read more about our Volunteer Program, and to learn about the specific volunteer roles we offer

Middle New Hampshire Arts & Entertainment Center
Our Commitment to Volunteers

We take seriously the time and commitment of our volunteers. We believe that volunteers should be engaged in roles that are meaningful both to them and to us, which fit volunteers' schedules and interests, which volunteers can perform confidently, and where each volunteer is appreciated for their contributions. Accordingly, we've developed a formal Volunteer Program whereby we can assure that we operate by these principles.

• We start by providing clear and specific volunteer roles, which clearly indicate what is expected from each role and volunteer
• We work to match these roles to the right people by assessing the skills and interests of prospective volunteers, and matching them to the roles that are likely to be most rewarding to them and most helpful to us
• We provide training and guidance for each volunteer--including thorough training at the outset of a volunteer assignment, and periodic ongoing training as appropriate
• We regularly assess the impact and quality of our volunteers
• And we have a formal recognition and rewards program for our volunteers. Perhaps most importantly, we pledge to our volunteers that when you commit your time and energy to us, we will be committed to making you proud of your association with us. Volunteers can know that we are committed to our mission, and that your engagement with us enables us to more effectively achieve that mission, and our vision

Our Expectations of Volunteers

While the time and commitment of the various volunteer roles we offer varies widely, we expect that when a volunteer accepts and commits to a role, that they perform their role well, and that they work in the best spirit of the organizational mission. So that The Middle operates in the most effective and efficient way possible, and to assure the rigors that enable us to best achieve our mission and vision, we believe in measuring those things that matter most. Our volunteers and the impact they enable matter enormously, so we do evaluate the effectiveness and impact of our volunteers. Specific expectations vary with each role, of course, but general expectations of all volunteers include these:

• Complete a Volunteer Profile Form, providing personal contact information and some indication of skills and interests.
• Sign a Volunteer Acknowledgement, Waiver, & Release of Liability, releasing the Opera House against possible claim from injury as a volunteer
• Commit to a specified role(s) by signing a Commitment Form so indicating that commitment, and an understanding of the expectations of the role
• Participate in provided trainings and orientation sessions, as relevant for the role(s) assigned
• Log and periodically report your time given as a volunteer, as well as any other in-kind contributions you may have made. (This data helps us assess our overall Volunteer Program impact, and can be very important for grant requests, etc., evidencing the robust level of community support that exists for the Opera House)
• Participate in a periodic organization-led assessment of your engagement, including completing a self-assessment of your engagement
• Act with integrity and honesty in all affairs related to Middle New Hampshire Arts & Entertainment Center, and strive at all times to participate in a spirit of teamwork and positive collaboration with other volunteers and staff

Volunteer Categories & Descriptions

The following briefly describes the core categories of volunteer roles:

• House Volunteers: Roles supporting performance days at The Middle, wherein volunteers' interaction with audience members is significant; these typically require only modest level of skill or training, and are quite suitable for both the occasional as well as regular volunteers. Typically requires evening and weekend hours.
• Tech Volunteers: Roles supporting performance prep, and performance days at The Middle; most of these roles require technical knowledge (on which we'll provide training) to work lights, sound, etc., as well as some level of physical agility
• Program Area Volunteer Leaders: Roles managing specific functional program areas of The Middle business; these are held by people willing to make a significant and ongoing investment of leadership, time, and energy in The Middle; these roles emulate the kinds of roles paid professional staff would have if the roles were filled by professional paid staff
• Operations Volunteers: Roles supporting specific functional program areas, often as part of a team; these roles vary widely in terms of skill required, and are typically much less intensive in terms of time commitment and duration
• Event Management Volunteers: Roles leading and managing specific events--typically fundraiser events for The Middle; these require significant commitment of time and energy, but for finite periods of time
• Leadership Volunteers: Roles serving on formal leadership groups like the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees; these typically are held by people with significant capacity to influence the growth and resource development of The Middle

Engagement Process

All prospective volunteers are asked to complete a Volunteer Profile Form. This provides us your contact information, and a general sense of your experience, skills and interests, so that we can best match you to a volunteer role that will be most meaningful and rewarding to you. Generally, prospective volunteers will be contacted within one week of our receipt of their form. We will review volunteer options with prospective volunteers, helping to make clear what exactly is involved with each role. Once a match is made and the volunteer finds a role he/she likes, we'll ask the volunteer to sign a Commitment Form, which simply helps to assure clear and mutual expectations regarding the scope of the role and the engagement level mutually anticipated. An orientation/training will be provided or scheduled, following which the volunteer can begin.

Questions or For More Information:

Contact Jim Hamel, Executive Director, at 603-934-1901, or via email.