Get involved

What might I be doing when I volunteer at Reverse Art Truck?

Processing – Sorting, cutting, bagging and bundling. Our industry partners are unable to neatly order their donations and therefore a main role of our volunteers is to ensure resources are separated and are as accessible as possible for our members. This means sorting boxes and barrels of resources into broad types or groups, so that they can be placed easily into our stores. Rolls of cloth, paper and sticky-back sheets come to us in bulk and in order to be of benefit to as many members as possible, these are cut to size and require regular restocking into our shops. Long strips and threads must be cut down and bagged in order that members (often teachers) can easily collect them in the limited collection time that they often have. Volunteers use scoops, scissors, box cutters and a guillotine to process resources.

Restocking and maintaining accessibility in the shop. Often our members share the same times that they are able to access our service and therefore arrive all at once. This often means that the shop can very quickly empty of resources, disadvantaging members who arrive later than others. It is critical that we provide as wide a range of resources to ALL our members and therefore our volunteers have the vital role of being able to locate and restock resources in the shop as our members collect. Volunteers use gloves and a hand trolley to restock, display and reorder resources.

Unloading, warehousing and storage. Donations come in irregularly and in varying quantities. One day we may have a couple of small bags of mixed home-based recycling or corks, the next we may have 3 pallets of sample flooring arrive. After a day of driving around Melbourne our truck requires unloading and the resources need to be placed into the shop and the overflow into our storage. Volunteers engage in lifting, carrying and storage, so as to maintain the best access we can. We have ongoing challenges with ensuring that all resources are warehoused appropriately and represented in the shops. Volunteers will be engaged in using the hand trolly, gloves and our truck’s tailgate loader.

Accepting and curating donations. Our team are often engaged with several members at once and many of our kind donators can’t wait around for our team to assess and accept or decline their donations. Our volunteers who have an understanding of the preferences of our members will be welcome to assess and curate donations as they arrive, reducing our costs significantly and reducing OUR footprint – If our members don’t want it, we need to put it into landfill, and we hate doing this.

Cleaning, tidying and in-store displays. Our stores are located in council properties which require the clearing of leaves, they often attract dust and spider webs and we do our best to keep our floors clear of scraps and odds and ends. Volunteers will use cloths, brooms, rakes, gloves, shears and dustpans to keep our stores looking attractive.

Being a great member of the team. This work is incredibly rewarding and enjoyable when we share our time and mission with compassionate and fun-loving people. Volunteers who bring a positive spirit and passion for the work greatly enhance our organization, contributing far beyond just their physical efforts.

What skills do I need?

• Motivation for our mission
• The ability to physically do the work
• A positive attitude