Join the ZURBwired 2012 Party as a Volunteer

We're steamrolling toward this year's ZURBwired 2012 on Aug. 2. We're currently in the process of selecting our participating nonprofit, who we'll help get over a design hump in one coffee-fueled 24 hour marathon.

Every year, we look forward to helping one lucky nonprofit. In previous years, we've created new websites and whole marketing campaigns for the nonprofits we've worked with. And while we have an amazing team that can crank out good work under pressure, we still need a little help from our friends. Which is why we're putting the call out for volunteers for this year's event.

We love working with our ZURBwired volunteers and are always inspired by their efforts. We've had a long list of volunteers who've contributed their unique talents to creating something of value for our participating nonprofits. It's a two-way learning street, where we learn something new from our volunteers and they take away something from us.

Our former volunteer Jon Hung (2009 and 2010) even wrote down the top ten things he learned from ZURBwired in this excellent blog post. Although, we're quite fond of his number one lesson:

Designing is not a solitary process — There are times when I imagine a designer being a person who locks themselves up in a hole and peck away at a keyboard for hours. More often than not, this isn't the case. What impressed me about ZURB's design process is how well they cooperated and collaborated on every aspect of Pie Ranch's website and print media. By the time a product reached completion, it had been in nearly every team member's hands at least once, for their visual critique and their input.

But volunteers don't just kick back. Volunteering means being in the trenches with us, signing up for the full 24 hours, showing up on time and committing to working with various team members through the wee hours of the night into the next day.

The people who get the most rewarding experience from ZURBwired are the ones that contribute the most. Web, visual and print design skills work best. That's because they are T-shaped — someone with a deep, specific skill set that can learn about and work with other skills and disciplines. They're also scrappy folks who can think quickly on their feet, love to collaborate and are highly-motivated to take a nonprofit to the next level.

We're currently looking for a few good volunteers. If you're interested, email us the following things:

1. Your top three skills
2. The types of goods and/or services you can offer
3. Your best teamwork tactic
4. Your URL
5. Why you want to volunteer at ZURBwired

Email us at [email protected] to let us know you're game. We'll get back in touch and see how best you can join the party.