Greenbelt festival – volunteer with us this year

Joe Howell (centre) with the other CAFOD volunteers at Greenbelt

Joe Howell shares his experience of campaigning with CAFOD at Greenbelt Festival 2011. Read on for details on how you can volunteer at Greenbelt this year…

As a liberal Christian arts, faith and justice festival, Greenbelt is perhaps not something I would have come across on my own. That said I am incredibly glad that I did and, having spent four days campaigning with a group of CAFOD volunteers, I was blown away by the incredible atmosphere at the 2011 festival.

Being a geography student at university, climate change is an issue I have studied and am passionate about as it is already affecting communities in the developing world.

The aim of our volunteering was to talk to as many of the 20,000 festival goers as possible about CAFOD’s work and handing out campaign action cards. We were helped in this monumental task by the use of creative props and activities, such as a full-size replica of the No. 11 Downing Street door and a juggler, which was great in attracting adults and young people alike.

Whilst the campaigning was a lot of fun, it was tiring and we spent most of day on our feet. To help with this I found myself setting targets for the number of action cards to collect – a great way to keep on track and contribute to the team’s overall total! And when work finished we had time to enjoy the wide variety of music, worship, talks, and comedy on offer, not to mention a whole host of exceptionally different foods.

Simply exploring the festival site was a particular highlight for me, enabling me to stumble across superb talks, energetic bands, and a range of entertainment I would never normally experience.

What’s more it was amazing to have our campaigning rewarded at the end of the festival by a grand total of 1,375 signed action cards, a number which smashed all our targets! This topped off a brilliant bank holiday weekend, and I would certainly now recommend the festival to anyone as well as the overwhelmingly positive experience of volunteering for CAFOD with a great team of people. I certainly hope to return in future.

If you like what you’ve read about my experience, read on for details on how you can participate in Greenbelt this year.

This year, Greenbelt will take place at the Cheltenham race course over the August Bank Holiday Weekend (Friday 24 to Monday 27 August 2012).

CAFOD is looking for seven campaigns volunteers (must be 18 or over). It’ll be a great opportunity to find out more about the issues that we are working on, meet other young campaigners, and attend talks and workshops on faith and global justice.  

We provide tickets and meal vouchers for all volunteers, but you’ll need to cover the cost of your own travel.

We’re looking for a few volunteers with a particular interest in blogging, film or photography – so if that sounds like you, let us know!

To apply, please email Volunteer Coordinator, Rachel at rmccarthy@cafod.org.uk by Monday 16 July.