Volunteer Drive: List of Programs

Have we really been around only five years? The Guild started out as a small group of folks on Yahoo that wanted to do something more than chat about writing. They wanted to band together to become a force for Catholic writing and Catholic writers–and to help themselves in the process.

In just those few short years, we went from a chatty Yahoo group to a national non-profit corporation that hosts two conferences a year, runs two newsletters (one for members and one for bookstores and readers), has a process to evaluate the Catholicity of a book (the Seal of Approval), and even has a national award–the Catholic Arts and Letters Award, which will be given out at the live conference in August. Just as nice: Probably 20 people or more can attribute their book contracts or writing gigs to something they’ve done in the Guild. And we’ve done all of this on a shoestring budget.

How are we doing this? Volunteers. People who give of their time and talent to make these things happen. We are growing, and the demands are growing, too. We need more folks helping out, even if only a task or two a month.

Why volunteer? It is work, and we know folks are busy. However, volunteering gets you a lot of benefits, too:

–Making friends: Our volunteers band together on and off the project. I’ve made some of my best friends in the Guild.
–Networking: Working with the Guild can give you a way to make contact with publishers, other writers, and folks in other areas of publishing. Several of our volunteers have found this foot in the door helpful. (Like I said–writing gigs have come about as a direct result of Guild work!)
–The satisfaction of being part of something bigger than yourself. The Guild is going to be a force, not just for writing, but for promoting our faith. What a mission! We are doing God’s work on earth.

What do you need to volunteer?

–DEDICATION: We don’t need folks to volunteer a lot of time, but we do need to know that if you volunteer for a task you will complete it or get help if needed. Most tasks take less than an hour a week, or are a once in a while thing.
–Eyes, ears, a computer with internet access and a phone. Very few of our volunteer tasks need special skills, and we are willing to train folks for specific tasks as needed.

Where do we need volunteers? Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sending out information on the various programs and projects we have, and what kind of help we need, both on the new CWG blog (http://blog.catholicwritersguild.com) and via direct mail. Please be on the lookout for them, and if interested, contact the program coordinator. However, here are the absoluter basics: If you are willing to help now and want to contact me directly, please do so at karina(at)fabianspace.com.

Seal of Approval: Needs a coordinator to take half the books; readers to evaluate the books. To help with the Seal of Approval, contact Sarah Reinhard at sarah(at)snoringscholar.com
CWG Chats: An assistant coordinator to find and schedule special guests once a month; moderators to run chat (like at CWCO). If interested, contact Theresa Henderson at steve_and_theresa(at)yahoo.com
Inside the CWG: Reporters; editors; layout person (layout person must know HTML): Contact Maria Rivera at mariarr(at)wi.rr.com
Publicity: We’re just putting this committee together, so we need leaders; people to contact the media; people to compile contact lists, etc. Contact Karina Fabian at karina(at)fabianspace.com
Facebook: Some folks to post news; ask folks to “like” the pages or follow our blog. Contact Karina at karina(at)fabianspace.com
CWG Wiki: To be a list of articles specifically about Catholic writers. Need writers and editors and fact-checkers. If interested, contact Dave Law at davealaw(at)shaw.ca
Volunteer Coordinator: Someone(s) to contact new members and get them involved, track and fill needs of committees. If interested, please contact Karina Fabian karina(at)fabianspace.com
CWG Blog: Glad to take more guest bloggers. Contact Jennifer at currentresident(at)fitzes.com.
Catholic Writers Conference Live/Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show: This is big and we have many needs both before and after the conference. Contact Ann Lewis at annlewis(at)joesystems.com.

If you aren’t sure how you can help, please check the blog each Thursday for our call for volunteers. I will be posting more detailed duties and needs. We can do so much for Catholic writing if we work together–and you can benefit personally as well!