Volunteering at North House
Our mission to inspire the hands, heart, and mind through teaching traditional Northern crafts comes alive through many behind the scenes tasks. Volunteers have always been at the center of helping us function through lending a hand on projects of all sizes. Whether you are a local looking for a fun way to give back to your community or a visitor joining us for a special event and wanting to pitch in, you are welcome and needed here.
Winterers' Gathering & Arctic Film Festival Volunteer Opportunities
Winterers' Gathering and Arctic Film Festival is just around the corner! This event arrives with much anticipation as it ushers in the cozy season. Help pop popcorn, make chili, set-up campus and more. See volunteer shift details below. Sign-up here!
Set Up & Clean up Crews
Pitch in helping move tables and chairs and set up spaces for classes and events throughout Winterers’ Gathering. Work study credit available.
- Event Set Up: Wednesday Nov 20, 1-3pm
- Gear Sale Set Up: Saturday Nov 23, 8:30am - 10am
- Gear Sale Take Down: Saturday Nov 23, 11:30am - 12:30pm
- Event Clean Up: Sunday Nov 24, 3pm - 5pm
Cooking Crews
Join our illustrious staff to help cook chili and bake cornbread for the big Saturday night chili feed. No cooking experience needed, just a willingness to help out and have a great time.
- Corn bread: Thursday Nov 21, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
- Chili: Saturday Nov 23, 11:00am - 2:00pm
Chili Serving/ Clean Up Crew
Chili and cornbread is arguably the most important job of the weekend, and it can’t be done by one person alone. We’re looking for a great crew to help us set up, serve, and clean up at the annual Chili Feed. No experience necessary, just a willingness to ladle chili, serve cornbread, and pitch in to wash some bowls.
- Saturday Nov 23, 4:30 - 7:30pm
Film Fest Attendant/ Info Booth
Friendly greeters guide people through the weekend (and point them to the bathroom). This is a mostly seated role in the Blue Building where the films will be shown. Info booth volunteers will be able to see the films while they pass out programs and whisper information to anyone with questions. *No prior expertise necessary!
- Many shifts available - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Nov 22-24
Volunteering Overview
As with all things in a northern climate, the North House volunteer program moves through the seasons in a steady and cyclical way. Most volunteer opportunities can be anticipated, while others emerge unexpectedly! The best way to be the first to hear about volunteer opportunites, is to sign up for our eNewsletter here and check the "Volunteering" box under "Interests".
Spring
We kicked off the season with a Volunteer Pizza Bake celebration in April - thanks to everyone who helped us get the season started! Pizza bakes are a great opportunity to get involved. Sign-ups are open! Click here to see details and sign up.
Summer
Ongoing volunteer opportunites emerge such as supporting student Friday night wood-fired pizza bakes. We will announce volunteer opportunites to be involved with the Summer Solstice and Wooden Boat Festival 3-4 weeks before the event, so stay tuned to the newsletter for sign-ups! Volunteer duties for events include serving chowder and campus set-up! Click here to read about volunteer roles. When you're ready, you can sign up here!
Fall
At the end of the summer and moving into autumn, we will host our annual fundraising event: Unplugged. We will be recruiting volunteers to attend to info booth, take tickets and more. In late fall, we usher in the cozy season with Winterers' Gathering and Arctic Film Festival. Some favorite volunteer opprtunites include making popcorn at the info booth while enjoying films and setting up for the gear/ski sale!
Winter
The cozy season is the perfect time to gather in gratitude and celebrate all of our hard work throughout the year. Volunteers are invited to come together to celebrate with a staff and volunteer gathering in mid December. Then we will rest, rest, and begin to look toward spring!
Contact
Please feel free to reach out to the volunteer program manager, Samantha McCauley at smccauley@northhouse.org or by calling (218)387-9762. We look forward to hearing from you, and to seeing you on campus soon!
Other Ways to Get Involved
In addition to our volunteer program, we offer a work-study program. Work-study is an incentivised program through which you can earn credit towards taking a class with us, by helping out with less-glamorous but highly valued functions of the school. Visit our work-study page to learn more about how to plug-in in that way.
Are you looking for a long term immersive experience? Consider applying for the 10 month Internship.
You can also give back to our school by signing up for a service learning course. Service learning courses are like regular courses at North House, except the craft you learn to make is given to North House at the end of the class instead of going home with you.
If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact info@northhouse.org or call (218) 387-9762.
