Hello and thank you for volunteering with us on Wednesday!

Wednesday you will be assisting a group of about 9 elementary schoolers from Struggle of Love Foundation. There will not be enough volunteers to work 1 on 1 with each kid, so you’ll be working with a small group of kids, helping belay the next who wants to climb and helping to work the autobelays.

Here's what to expect on Wednesday Afternoon:

• Please arrive at Ubergrippen by 12pm and say hi at the front desk and let them know you are volunteering with Project Send It. They know to expect you! Get your harness on and hang out until the kids arrive. If you plan on climbing on your own before the kids arrive, keep an eye on the time and be waiting in the lobby before they arrive. Introduce yourself to the other volunteers!

• If you haven't been to Ubergrippen before, please arrive even earlier and pass the belay test so you're ready to go before the kids arrive.

• The SOL staff member leading this field trip is Lynn Jackson. You can ask her any questions about the kids should you need to.

• As the kids come in, introduce yourself, get to know them a little. Take them back to the cubby area on the right side of the front desk. Help them get their harness on correctly (remember to get permission before any physical contact and explain what you are going to do should you need to) and get climbing shoes on. It might take a trip or 2 to the desk to get the right size shoe for each kid. Store shoes and jackets in the cubbies.

• Once all the kids are in a harness and shoes, it's time to climb! We'll split the kids evenly between the volunteers into little pods so we don’t take the entire Alcove. Find an area that looks fun and also has an autobelay.

• This will not be the first time climbing for most of these kids. You may still need to tie them in and feel free to show them how to do it themselves. Keep an eye on how they are using the Autobelay (we definitely don’t want it going to the ceiling!). Help them out if they would like help.

  • But before tying in, attach your Grigri/ATC to your harness (pro tip - you might get a kid that just starts climbing before you're ready, and that's more likely to happen once they are all tied in!). 

  • Explain the climbing commands (On Belay? Belay On! Climbing? Climb ON!)

  • Some kids will freak out when they get to the top and won't want to come down. If this is their first time, have them climb up just a little bit (less than halfway) and sit in the harness so they get a feel for it. Don't press it too much if they don't want to.

• If you haven't already done so, please review and sign the Project Send It Volunteer Waiver and Contact Policy 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZ8DyymvBIiUGbKOqxmJZ4oQTV0ZlFNUWVkz63DtcNjZ6lbA/viewform

• You've got this! Project Send It doesn't happen without awesome volunteers like yourself. Thank you so much for being there on Wednesday!