MUST Ministries Seeks Volunteer “Elves” For Christmas Toy Shops

MUST Ministries’ three Christmas Toy Shops benefiting children in need will open their doors Dec. 8, and volunteers will be vital to ensuring every child awakes on Christmas morning with gifts under the tree. The Toy Shops, located in Marietta, Smyrna and Canton, allow struggling parents to shop for toys, necessities and winter wear in a department store-like environment.

Positions include:

• Front Desk: Greet clients and cross reference client names against other organization lists. Must be able to explain to client if he or she is not permitted to shop due to being on another agency’s list.
• Shoppers: Assist the parents while in our Toy Shop. Walk with the parent and explain the allotted number of items per child. Assist in picking out the gifts. Adults are preferred for this position.
• Check Out: Double-check that the shopper and the parent have gone to each section and have gotten the correct number of items. This person MUST be able to tell a parent if they can’t have an item as needed.
• Stockers and Sorters: Sort incoming toys and items and keep shelves stocked with items.
• Runners: Assist families to their cars with gift items. This job is great for teens.

All shifts are on a first-come, first-serve basis, so registrants must have a backup date and time in mind when selecting a shift. Registrants will select their shifts online, and once orientations are all completed registrants will receive an email with a sign up link. Each location will have a different schedule.

Available shifts include:

• Set Up Shift: During this shift, volunteers will “create” the shopping space, unpack donated items, put shelving together and unload vehicles. This will be a very physical shift with heavy lifting required.
• Shopping Shifts: During this shift, parents will come in every 10 minutes to shop in our Toy Shop. This shift overlaps with the next so that the 9:00 volunteers can train the 12:00 volunteers without causing a backup before leaving.
• Restocking: During this time, volunteers will restock shelves and unload the daily delivery of toys (there are no appointments during this time). This shift is best for children and teens, as well as smaller groups.
• Driver: With the increased number of families each year, MUST needs a few volunteers to set aside a day of the week to be drivers. Most deliveries will run from a MUST location to the Toy Shop, though some pickups will occur outside of a MUST location.
• Clean/Packing Up: During this shift, volunteers will clean up the Toy Shop and pack supplies away until next year. This will also be a very physical job with heavy lifting required.

Volunteers must be at least 10 years old, and child volunteers must be old enough to understand that although the toys they see are free to other families, they are not permitted to have any. The youth (ages 10-17) to adult ratio is 4 youth to 1 adult. Ensure when scheduling a youth group that you have the appropriate number of adults.

To sign up for a volunteer shift, go to http://signup.com/go/ToyShop. For more information, visit www.mustministries.org or email toyshop@mustministries.org.