Volunteering

AnimeFest is a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers and has no paid employees. We rely solely on the kindness of fellow anime fans to staff and manage every aspect of the convention.

Volunteering is open.

What are the qualifications for volunteering?

– Willing and able to work a minimum of 16 hours during or before the convention. Work during the convention is typically broken up into 3-4 hour shifts.
– Be at least 16 years of age and show proof of your age. If you have any questions regarding types of acceptable proof, please contact volunteer@animefest.org.
– If you are below the age of 18 your parent/guardian must be present at check in to sign your volunteer waiver.
– Prior convention staff experience is a plus, but not required. (Please let us know about any prior experience you have.)
– Attend the pre-convention staff meeting. The meeting will be July 13th from 3pm to 5pm via Microsoft Teams

IMPORTANT NOTE: AnimeFest may review existing publicly available records to identify individuals who should not be allowed to volunteer due to current or previous legal concerns. If you have questions or concerns about your ability to volunteer, please contact us at volunteer@animefest.org.

– Masks are recommended but not required – Per current CDC guidelines the Arlington area does not require masking. If this changes closer to the event we will update our policy.

What’s in it for me?

  • Free admission to both conventions – AnimeFest and GameFest.
  • Ability to purchase the staff t-shirts.
  • Ability to register for free staff crash space.
    • Crash Space is for volunteers over 18 years of age, who are volunteering for a minimum of 24 hours of work.
    • Requests for crash space can be made AFTER you are accepted to a staff.
    • Crash space is usually shared with 3-4 other volunteers of the same gender, you can request preferred roommates.
    • All crash space requests must be made no later than June 23rd, 2024.
    • We will announce when our staff hotel rooms are full; at that time, we will start a waiting list for available crash spaces, but do not depend on this for availability.
  • Up to $20 reimbursement per person for Parking, Ride Sharing, Dart, TRE passes dated between July 25th and July 28th. Receipts must be presented.

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Volunteer Form