Volunteer for Haunted Village

Signing up to Volunteer

Volunteer sign ups will be done through BetterImpact. All volunteers must sign up through BetterImpact. If you are new to BetterImpact, register by clicking on the links below.

Who Can Volunteer

Haunted Village is our biggest fundraiser of the year and it takes 65+ volunteers a night to help make it happen! The event couldn’t happen without the volunteers who come out and bring the Village to life with the cackling of witches, shrieks of ghosts, whispers in the cemetery, and the music from regions beyond. But dressing up in character isn’t all that our Haunted Village volunteers do, they also work in admissions, concessions, our gift shop, help with crowd control, and pass out thousands of pieces of candy over the course of the 6 nights. There truly is something for everyone at Haunted Village and it is also a great way to gain service hours, give back to your community, gain experience, boost resumes, and make new friends!

Jr. Volunteer opportunities begin at age 10 and we have volunteers at Heritage Village who continue to come out and volunteer into their 90s, so Haunted Village is a great opportunity for the whole family. Jr. volunteers include volunteers ages 10 to 17. Jr. volunteers ages 10 to 13 must have a parent, grandparent, guardian, or other adult family member volunteering in the same location as them. In the past we have had both grandparent/grandchild and parent/child volunteering teams in addition to solo volunteers, friends, and couples, it truly is a great way to get spend time together in a fun and spooky way this autumn. We have volunteer opportunities at Haunted Village for scout groups, student organizations (high school and college), families, friends, couples, and individuals.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email our Director of Marketing and Volunteer Services, Bethany Jewell, at bjewell@heritagevillagecincinnati.org  

Check-In and Check-Out
Check in next to the concession stand between 5:15 and 5:45 p.m. You must check in to get your name tag and a couple important pieces of information for the night prior to going to your assigned location. Make sure you are here no later than 5:45 p.m. Everyone should be checked in and at their location before gates open at 6 p.m. If you need community services hours documentation signed, please do this during check-in.

There will be a Sign-In/Sign-Out sheet at the concession stand.  Please mark your time out (rounded to the nearest 15 min.) before you leave. If you are planning to leave early for any reason, Bethany must be informed before you leave. 

Parking
All volunteers may park in the field behind Elk Lick House. To get there you will go down our service road to the right of the Sharon Centre past the Park Rangers vehicles onto a gravel road that you will follow past the small parking lot behind the barn to the field where other cars will be parked (see images below for map).

Clothing
Volunteers should come dressed in whatever they plan to wear for the night (unless you have already talked to Bethany), whether that be a costume, Halloween themed shirt, or Heritage Village T-shirt, just make sure you are prepared for the weather.

If you are signed up for a character role and are not dressed appropriately for that role, you may be asked to move to a different location (ex. if you are signed up for Kemper House, you must be dressed as a witch/wizard). Feel free to be creative, but you should still fit in with the theme of your building or area.

Rules and Guidelines
The rules for Haunted Village are much the same as for our other events, but it is even more important than usual that they are followed as this is our biggest event and it takes place at night.
• Under no circumstances should a building ever be left unattended – we are still a museum and these buildings are our most precious artifacts and we need to protect them for future visitors. If you need a break and no one is there to cover you, call or text Bethany and she will send someone to relieve you.
• Under no circumstances should anyone under the age of 18 be left alone – in case of an emergency and for the safety of our Jr. Volunteers, a volunteer under the age of 18 should never be left alone. If you are the adult in a building, it is your responsibility to find a floater or staff member to stay with the building and Jr. Volunteer before you leave for any reason
• Cellphones may be kept in a pocket, under a table, or somewhere nearby. It is important that you are able to contact staff, a Park Ranger or 911 in case of an emergency. However, to maintain atmosphere, cellphones should be kept out of sight of visitors at all times except in case of an emergency or if you need to contact a staff member.
• Park Rangers will be on site each night in case of emergency or to help in case anyone feels unsafe for any reason.
• Phone numbers for the park rangers and staff members are on the tag on the candy buckets.
• Staff members will be on hand each night floating around seeing if anyone needs anything. Staff members will also make sure all lights are turned off and the building’s are locked at the end of the night, so don’t worry about doing that.
• No touching any guests at any time!

Food and Breaks
• Food will be available for volunteers to pick up at the concession stand after check-in, before the event begins. Each volunteer can have a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a drink. Please let us know in advance if you would like a vegan sandwich. You may take your food to your location and eat before or during the event. Please let the volunteer in charge of your area know when you would like to take a break so that everyone isn’t gone at once. Try to time breaks when your location is less busy.
• If you need a restroom break, check with the adult in charge of your area. Jr. Volunteers may go in pairs to take a break. Stagger breaks so that no more than two volunteers are on break from each building/area at a time. It’s only a four hour event, so please take only a 15 min. break. I will be around to give breaks to buildings/areas where there is only one adult volunteer. If your building/area has two or more adult volunteers, take turns taking breaks. Text or call Bethany if there are any issues.

Gate Keeper/Candy Guidelines
Many of our volunteers for Haunted Village act as candy passer outers and there are some guidelines that must be followed. We have a limited supply of candy which is donated by volunteers and members, while we wish we could give out even more candy than we do, we will already be providing thousands of pieces of candy. If you have extra candy to bring yourselves, please do so.
• Each child should only receive one piece of candy per Trick-or-Treat location
• If an adult asks for a piece of candy, let them know that the candy was donated by volunteers for the children attending and that we need to make it last. If they still insist on a piece of candy, just give them a piece. It’s not worth arguing over.
• We participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project and offer non-food alternatives at each of our Trick-or-Treat locations; these alternatives should only be given to children with food allergies/restrictions. It is not an “either/or” option for all guests and should not be treated as such.
• Please don’t eat all our candy!
• Gate Keeper will also be responsible for monitoring the number of people in a building and adjusting the flow of traffic so it doesn’t get too crowded in a building.  Work with whoever is volunteering in the building. Communication is key.

New Volunteers
There will be someone at each location who is familiar with it, so if you have not volunteered before and are wondering what you will be doing, we will show/explain it to you after you check in.

Emergency/Accident Information
While we all try to be as safe as possible, there are still things that we can’t plan for. If there is an incident, please reach out to Steve Preston, our Executive Director, Bethany, or another staff member. Each building is equipped with a First Aid Kit and Accident/Incident Reports. Please locate these items as soon as you get to your building while it is still light out, so you are not scrambling if something happens and you suddenly need one. If you are not located in a building, identify your closest building and make sure you are familiar with the location of these items, as well. Anytime anyone (guest, volunteer, or staff member) is hurt (big or small), an Accident/Incident Report should be filled out with as much information/detail as possible. These help us to keep track of everything and to be aware if anything like this happens.

The park ranger dispatch phone number and staff member cell phone numbers will be included in the email from Bethany that you will receive in the week before you volunteer. These numbers will also be attached to each candy bucket. 

Official Event First Aid is located at Hayner House in the Gift Shop and there is a Park Ranger on site in case of emergencies. If something happens, you should also alert a staff member as soon as possible.

Accessibility Information
In our continuing efforts to make Heritage Village a more welcoming and accessible place, there are Accessibility Protocols for each location during Haunted Village. Accessibility Brochures are located in each building.