A good problem
- Gig Buddies Sydney
- Aug 17, 2015
- 2 min read
If there is such a thing as having “a good problem”, it would surely apply to our 3:1 volunteer to gig buddy ratio. Following last week’s blog, we understandably received queries asking why, with our large imbalance of volunteers to gig buddies, isn’t everyone paired?
When it comes to a successful pairing, a mutual musical interest is not the only consideration: we ask if the gig buddy would like to socialise with a male or female and whether they’d like to attend events with someone of similar age. We also place a huge importance on location: because our insurance does not cover the use of the volunteers’ own vehicle when it comes to attending gigs, we are reliant on public transport. Of course, our volunteers are permitted to drive to their gig buddy’s residence and then catch public transport to the event of their choosing, but tolls, petrol and parking costs then come into consideration.
As highlighted last week, we’ve about a dozen gig buddies based in Hornsby with no volunteers to speak of, and a glut of volunteers within the inner west with very few participants. Hypothetically, pairing a gig buddy based in Hornsby with a volunteer from Marrickville (approximately an hour’s drive, 40 km apart) poses logistical issues - and that’s assuming the pair are a match when it comes to age and gender, and that they share the same taste in music.
We stand to tackle social isolation and, attending events aside, we’re all for sustaining the friendship between a volunteer and gig buddy. We would never stand in the way of a potential pairing, but we would never pair two people just because we have an influx of volunteers to gig buddies.
If we overlooked all the aforementioned considerations we possibly would have the majority of our willing gig buddies (59 at today’s count) paired up with a volunteer. However, we believe that this would be to the detriment of not only the initiative, but to the long term enjoyment of both the volunteer and gig buddy.
As for the good problem? When our ratio is addressed we have an excellent stock of willing and ready volunteers.
Matthew Collins
Gig Buddies Sydney Social Media Coordinator
matt@assistcom.org
All donations are gratefully received. If you would like to revel in legendary status please support us in our cause to get more people out to live events in Sydney
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