Help the Poetry Festival at its biggest fundraising event!
Volunteer at our September casino
One casino shift equals roughly $2000 for the festival!
Casino fundraisers are important to many Edmonton organizations because they are significant fundraising events.
We need your help!
The Edmonton Poetry Festival’s casino date is on September 8/9, and it will be our biggest single fundraising opportunity until our next casino event in 2027.
What does the festival do with the money?
Casino revenue helps the festival pay artists and bring lively programs to Edmonton, and we depend on volunteers to pull off the casino—lots of volunteers. Without volunteers like you, the Edmonton Poetry Festival wouldn’t happen!
What are the time commitments?
For each day of our two-day casino, we need to fill positions during a day shift (roughly 9:30 am to 6:30 pm) and an evening/night shift (roughly 6:30 pm until the gaming tables close at 3 am).
One casino shift equals roughly $2000 for the festival!
We know this is a big ask. But think about this. When a volunteer works at a casino shift, it’s roughly equivalent to donating nearly $2000 to the festival! That’s how much of a difference you can make a difference.
Interested and willing to help?
Contact the festival’s casino chair, Alice Major, at alice @ edmontonpoetryfestival.com for details.
What does the work look like?
Here’s what volunteers do:
- Cashiers accept gaming chips from people who want to cash them in, and count out the necessary cash. It’s a structured process and every transaction is supervised. At the end of the shift, your cash drawer is counted and balanced with the chips you’ve taken in.
- The banker for each shift is responsible for transferring cash to the cashiers as needed, and sending gaming chips out to the gaming tables as well.
- Count room volunteers literally count. When the gaming tables close, all their cash is brought back to the count room, and run through the counting machines. Everything is double-checked and wrapped up in elastic bands. This is a night-owl shift–shorter than the others. You come in around 10:30 pm and finish around 3 am. There’s usually a break of an hour or more between two rounds of counting.
- Chip runners wait in the volunteer lounge until needed to carry gaming chips out to the tables. A good shift for catching up on your reading or writing.
We have snacks and beverages in the volunteer lounge and you can also have a free meal in the casino restaurant on your breaks. And throughout your shift, you meet and chat with other poetry lovers and festival friends.
We’ll be at the Yellowhead Casino (12464 153 St NW), and if you need transportation to get there or back home, we’ll look after that.
Why casinos?
A little background – Alberta’s gaming system requires that casino operators split their profits with registered non-profit organizations. In return for successfully applying for a casino licence, non-profits like the Edmonton Poetry Festival provide a roster of volunteers. These people staff the cash cage and count room, under the supervision of independent professional consultants that the charity hires. The idea is that this system provides an extra layer of oversight independent of the casino’s owners and employees.
Thank you!If you can help us, or if you know someone who can, we will be so grateful! Please get in touch will Alice!