There are a small number of unwritten rules for volunteerism. Respect them, and you can bring together a few dozen volunteers together and make great things happen. Ignore them, and don't be surprised when you burn bridges, burn volunteers, and accomplish little to nothing.
Today, I had the distinct honor of witnessing a poorly organized "tech careers day" at a local high school do little more than provide politicians some face time (in the guise of a "constituent services" event), offer approximately zero benefit to the students who showed up, and generally annoy the some of the volunteers who tried to contribute back to their community.
If you look at an event like YAPC or last week's PyCon, it is possible to bring together some volunteers and produce a truly successful event. Sure, these conferences are rough around the edges, but they do get the job done, albeit with some minor yet tolerable inefficiencies. A key factor here is understanding the roles the volunteers play. Many people volunteer in some specific capacity -- typically making a presentation that's scheduled for a specific time and place. Attendees know what to expect because the schedule is posted in advance, and posted throughout to be easy to find and easy to read. Some volunteers perform different duties, like manning a registration desk, planning the event, or whatnot. A small number of others volunteer to "do whatever is necessary" to make an event work -- obtain parking passes, pick up speakers at the airport, locate facilities staff to turn on the air conditioning, or give the wifi network a good swift kick.
When things don't work, nearly everything falls apart from the beginning.
Here's a sampling of what we saw today. Upon walking into the front door, speakers and attendees can't identify the registration desk, so they need to ask around and navigate past the clusters of people who are always standing in the way. It's generally a good idea to provide coffee and some breakfast items when organizing a morning event. The organizers should know not only if these items are available, but where they are and how to get there. Maps are important. Speakers and attendees need to know where the talks are being held, so they can (a) present the talks they volunteered to give or (b) hear the talks they came to hear.
And let's not forget that if a speaker requests some special equipment (such as, say, exotic items like a computer, an LCD projector and an internet connection), it's important to provide these items especially when you said they will be available. Using a computer lab made available for the occasion is an excellent place to hold a presentation that discusses something about an internet. Using a home economics lab for such a talk isn't a very bright idea.
I've been a volunteer for various events and causes many times over the last few decades. Sometimes, everyone comes to the table with a can-do attitude to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. (Mailing parties is a great example of this.) Other times, volunteers come with a specific task they want to accomplish, or a specific way they want to volunteer. Regardless of how someone wants to volunteer, it is always important to set expectations and then meet them. If you promise a room to make a presentation, then provide it (and make sure everyone can find that room). If you can't provide very much, like the obligatory coffee, breakfast, t-shirt, large pizza or case of beer, then provide that. (I was a ride marshall for Bike New York one year; there was a near riot when a few marshalls didn't get their t-shirts at the end of the day.) Fail to provide what you said you would, or what the volunteers expect to see, and you'll make a lot of volunteers unhappy and guarantee that you will never see them again.
As far as I can tell, today's "career day" was an abject failure. I saw speakers leaving early because no one knew where they were presenting. I saw parents unable to find the presentations they wanted to see (or that they wanted their children to see). I saw people manning tables in the cafeteria as part of a makeshift career fair; the only thing lacking here were the students.
Today's career fair must have been someone's pet political project. I didn't see any benefit to the students whatsoever. The only benefit that I can fathom is an exhange of favors and political capital, and perhaps some face time for some politicians in the guise of "constituent services"...
