Q. How do I get started volunteering?
A. Membership is free! To sign up for our weekly email newsletter, just click on "Sign Up!" above and follow the directions to sign up for our weekly email newsletter and learn about new and upcoming volunteer and social activities. Ready to volunteer? Just click on "Calendar" to see our Calendar of Volunteer Opportunities.

Q. Do I have to sign up in advance, or can I just show up?
A. Because our activities tend to fill up, please sign up in advance for each activity you'd like to join. Otherwise, we may end up overwhelming the organizations we are trying to help.

Q. What can I expect when I volunteer with BCV?
A. BCV was designed to lower the barriers to volunteering and socializing at all of our volunteer and social activities. At all regular BCV volunteer activities (those that you sign up through BCV), we always have a BCV Coordinator, who is there to greet you, hand out nametags, socialize, and coordinate between the volunteers and the organization. You'll find that our members are very welcoming, friendly, and fun. Nearly all of our activities have a diverse group of men and women from different age and ethnic groups. If you volunteer periodically, you'll find that you start to recognize some of the members at the activities but that there are always new members to meet. So if you are new to BCV and haven't volunteered yet, try it once. You'll enjoy yourself and want to sign up for more activities.

Q. What does "nonBCV" mean (when used in the volunteer newsletter)?
A. We also announce a few activities as nonBCV and we ask you to sign up directly with the organization. It is then up to the organization to schedule shifts and make assignments. Although you may see other BCV members there, we won't schedule a BCV Coordinator and have nametags, etc.

Q. Do I get a reminder with directions?
A. For all regular BCV activities, we always send a reminder email a few days before each activity. It is a good idea to print out this email as it will include the address, directions, and contact information along with other important details.

Q. What do I do if I lost the directions at the last minute?
A. If you are signed up for an activity and lost the directions, you can usually find the address on the organization's website (which you can find listed on our website) or by calling the organization. To get Metro and walking directions, try www.wmata.com or www.stationmasters.com. To get driving directions, try www.mapquest.com.

Q. There is a storm predicted! Will the BCV event be canceled at the last minute?
A. You can find out on the day of the event by sending a text message or email to the following address: status@burgundycrescent.org (put it in your contact list today so you remember). There is no need to send a subject line or message body, because no matter what you send, you will receive an autoreply with the status of events (volunteer events as well as socials) for that day. Don't include comments or questions in your message as no one monitors that email address (it is just set to autoreply the status of events). Since Washington weather can be a little wacky, if the weather looks iffy, we suggest you check up to an hour before your event.

Q. Help! We need volunteers for our special event or for an ongoing volunteer activity for our gay (or gay-friendly) non-profit organization!
A. Send an email to Jonathan to make the arrangements.

Feel free to send us an email if you have any other questions, concerns, or comments.