Volunteer for the Mississippi River Challenge
A helpful volunteer makes the Mississippi River Challenge an even more enjoyable experience.
Help with the challenge within the Mississippi River Challenge — keeping hundreds of paddlers refreshed, inspired, and safe! Volunteers provide essential support all weekend long, over the entire route of the event, from Coon Rapids Dam to Grey Cloud Island.
In addition to the gratitude of the paddlers, volunteers receive a complimentary Mississippi River Challenge t-shirt, plus meals or snacks at their volunteer site(s). We encourage you to consider volunteering for two sites and making a day of it — giving your time helps us put more resources into helping the river. Plus, volunteers who contribute eight hours over the course of the weekend are invited to attend the festivities at Historic Fort Snelling on the evening of July 24th compliments of Friends of the Mississippi River. (Those who volunteer for less than eight hours are welcome to sign up and pay the fee to attend the fort festivities. It’s a great deal!)
Mississippi River Challenge Volunteer Locations and Shifts
Heroic volunteers rush fresh lunches to hungry paddlers.
Specific times will be assigned to each task/site closer to the event.
Items marked with * indicate volunteer positions that involve handling cash. These positions require volunteers with previous experience volunteering with FMR.
Sunday, July 25th
Fort Snelling — Early morning: Breakfast, second day put-in
Harriet Island — Mid-morning: Morning Rest Stop for paddlers
Pig's Eye Peninsula — Mid-day: Lunch for paddlers (Accessible only by water, we provide a shuttle.)
Lion's Levee Park — Mid to late afternoon: Afternoon Rest Stop for paddlers
Grey Cloud Island — Final stop of the event: Paddler take-out
Volunteer Job Descriptions
First-Aid Assistant
Qualified health-care and medical professionals are sought at each stop along the route to provide first-aid assistance as needed. Sign up now! Please include a sentence or two about your background and availability in the “Comments” box.
General Event Assistant
“Event assistant” covers a wide range of tasks at each site, which are outlined below. You may sign up to be a General Event Assistant, or you may indicate a specific task by adding it to the comments box on the signup form. Specific tasks at each site include:
- Paddler Helper
- This multitask position is available at each stop along the canoe and kayak route, from put in to take out, for volunteers who enjoy being physically active. You will arrive at each stopping point in advance of the paddlers to clean up debris and trash (especially along the beaches to ensure safe landings) and ready the site. As paddlers come down the river, you will help them out of their canoes, work in teams to move boats and make room for additional arrivals, and help get boats back in the water when paddlers are ready to move on. When the last stragglers have paddled through, you will close down the site by cleaning up any trash and taking care of other site specific details. Requires some heavy lifting and a sense of humor. Approximate duration: 4 hours per site. Sign up now! Indicate “Paddler Helper” in “Comments.”
- Refreshment Assistant
- At each stop along the route, Refreshment Assistants will offer food and drinks to the participants, and a few lucky assistants will be needed to scoop ice cream at Fort Snelling on Saturday night. You will also need to be available for set-up and break-down of the refreshment area at each site. Requires an ability to move fairly quickly and stay calm in the face of paddlers and pedalers needing immediate sustenance. Approximate duration: 4 hours per site. Sign up now! Indicate “Refreshment Assistant” in “Comments.”
Registration Helper
This volunteer position is available at Coon Rapids Dam on Friday and Saturday, and also at Fort Snelling Saturday evening. At Coon Rapids Dam, you will check participants in, distribute luggage tags, get forms signed, and handle general registration duties. At the Fort, you will check in evening visitors to the event, hand out food and drink vouchers, and handle some cash transactions. You will also need to answer questions about the event but can refer people to the site managers if necessary. Requires a friendly smile as well as an ability to pay attention to details and stay organized. Previous experience volunteering with FMR also required. Approximate duration: 3 hours per site. Sign up now!
Opportunities after the event
An event like the Mississippi River Challenge requires a fair amount of post-event work. If you are available during weekday hours, please consider volunteering for post-event activities in the FMR Office — July 27th though August 1st:
- Assembling "Participant Survey" mailing
- Processing pledges
- Processing registrations and pledges involves entering participant and donor information into the FMR database. Computer and data entry experience is definitely helpful with this volunteer task, however training is provided. Because this position involves handling cash, previous volunteer experience with FMR is required.