Volunteers

Riley West / September 17, 2009

Festival Volunteer Coordinators Peggy DeWald and CeCe Derickson / Photo by Riley West

3/10/2010 update: Volunteer sign-ups for the 2010 Festival have closed.

Last year’s first Tucson Festival of Books featured lots of smiles from the Tucson community.

Volunteer Coordinator Peggy DeWald said “There was just this electricity in the air…it is exciting to see everyone help with literacy and having fun doing it.” Between the buzz about different authors, the delicious local food, and huge community involvement, there was plenty to smile about for Festival Volunteer Coordinators Peggy DeWald and CeCe Derickson.

DeWald and Derickson share their enthusiasm about the Book Festival. DeWald and Derickson have been friends since their freshman year at the University of Arizona, where both earned an undergraduate degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in Education with a specialty in reading. Derickson said “With this background in teaching and education, we totally embraced the importance of a Book Festival for the Tucson community.”

“It was just what Tucson needed!” Derickson said.

Despite initial challenges in “finding, organizing, training, and overseeing 1000 volunteers,” Derickson said, “We succeeded by going to our community’s literacy groups, book clubs, Rotary Clubs, U of A organizations, and most importantly, spreading the word via the festival website inviting the community to volunteer.”

Last year’s volunteers “were highly visible wearing their bright orange volunteer T-shirts with the 2009 festival mascot, the Gila monster, splashed in letters across the back,” Derickson said. The Book Festival had 1,000 volunteers last year and has high hopes for even more this year. “Last year’s festival exceeded our expectations,” Derickson said.

“There was a lady who helped out on a set-up shift on Friday, but stayed all day to help Saturday, and all day Sunday. She said ‘I’ll do anything.’ She just really wanted to be a part of it,” says DeWald. “It was nice to have an extra person who wanted to help and now she will chair a subcommittee!”

Volunteering at the Tucson Festival of Books is great way to get involved and experience the satisfaction of supporting literacy, says DeWald. It’s beneficial to be a part of the community, as well as “being a part of the vision and the success of this terrific event,” Derickson said.

Derickson continued: “It was just the movement… the wonderful speakers…it went beyond our wildest dreams!”