Volunteering for WABB supports the band's success and is a rewarding experience. You can choose to volunteer for singular needs or roles that extend over the entire school year, providing flexibility.
It's an opportunity to connect with the band community, make friends, and impact young musicians.
If you don't see a role that fits your talents, reach out and let us know. There are many opportunities available.
Ready to help?
RRISD requires all adults who interact with students during school functions to complete a criminal background check each year. You do this by filling out the volunteer application. If you are a district employee you do not need to complete this, you will just need your district badge at all events
Concession sales for all varsity, junior varsity, freshmen and middle school home games is one of the biggest fundraisers for WABB. We need volunteers to staff at least two concession stands for every varsity game and one concession stand for each of the other levels. Depending upon the level of the game, a shift can last about three to five hours. As Mr. Turpin has requested, each band family must have one volunteer work at least two games as we'll need close to 200 volunteers for the season. Volunteers receive detailed instructions, one complimentary food item and drink, and never need to purchase tickets to the games for which they volunteer. Other than working in a concession stand, you can also volunteer to be a Concessions Stand Manager, a Concessions Stock Manager, a Concessions Treasurer, a Concessions Volunteer Coordinator, or a Concessions Co-Chair. Working the concessions stand is a great way to meet other band parents (your co-workers) as well as the Westwood community (our customers)!
Become a Roadie and experience the thrill of supporting our students directly on the field! As a Roadie, you'll handle crucial tasks like moving props and equipment, helping ensure each performance runs smoothly. This role offers a unique opportunity to witness the excitement firsthand, support our band during a financially challenging year, and create lasting memories with fellow band families. Sign up today and make a meaningful impact in our vibrant band community!
We need volunteers to help produce and assemble the sets and props for the fall marching show. Each year we have a new show which means a new set of props, however typical tasks include hammering, cutting, drilling and painting. No previous experience necessary! The majority of work takes places in August and September with tweaks made throughout the marching season. Volunteers are needed on various days of the week, usually on Saturdays or late afternoon/early evening on a weekday.
As part of their registration fees, band students are provided with a meal before football games and on contest days. Volunteers are needed for set up, serving, and cleanup. Game Day volunteer shifts are from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. You can sign up to help as little or as much as you want. It is a great way to see your child interacting with their band friends while you get to meet awesome band parents, directors and students.
Parents are needed to ride the bus with the band students to and from football games and marching competitions. If you have first aid training/certification, please consider volunteering to chaperone. Volunteers need to be at the school between 4:30 and 5:00 PM on football game days and return to the school with the students after the game (around 11:00 PM). Chaperones also help band students get ready to perform and move the drum major platforms out on the field. For competitions, the length of time chaperoning varies depending upon the location of the event and whether the event has preliminaries and finals. Chaperones do not have to be available for every event, but rather can volunteer at events that fit their schedule.
Other organizations have two-dimensional signs for the front of their student’s homes; not the Westwood Band! Late summer/early fall, we make three-dimensional “blockheads” out of landscape timber and 2 × 4s. Help is needed cutting, sanding, sawing, painting, and decorating blockheads for incoming freshmen, new students, new drum majors, new band directors and even new principals (Ms. Campbell has hers!). Blockheads are usually prepared and decorated at the Blockhead Coordinator’s home. There is no minimum time to volunteer, but the more time you can help, the faster the blockheads will be finished. Join in on this Westwood Warrior Band tradition.
When the band travels during the fall and spring, equipment, props and instruments must travel too. If you have experience and/or are comfortable driving a large (automatic transmission) box cargo truck, please consider being on the list for driving the percussion and equipment/instrument trucks.
The Uniform crew helps with the following:
- Fit and assign marching uniforms during summer band
- Help distribute the hundreds of t-shirts, shoes and gloves that everyone ordered (one evening before school starts)
- Before football games and competitions, four volunteers are needed: one to help with traffic flow, one to sell socks and gloves, two at the exit to check that students have all the items they need and pant hems are snapped
- After games/competitions, two or three volunteers are needed to ensure students hang their uniforms properly
- Later in the fall, concert uniforms are issued
Section Parents communicate with the parents in your child’s instrument section. Often a Section Parent helps coordinate snacks for your child’s section after rehearsals during marching season and several goody bags prior to marching competitions. The Section Parent is the communicator between the WABB board and the parents. The busiest time for Section Parents is during the football season. Many sections have two parents who work together to divide and conquer. The Westwood reps provide directions for all section parents, including snack and goody bag calendar.
Responsible for taking photos of students during summer band camp & making photo buttons to be sold to parents. Also responsible for working with spirit store vendor to set up the band spirit store (with input from Directors and WABB Board) in time for products delivered by the start of school. During Summer Band Camp, this volunteer (with the help of others) will take digital photos of the band students in their uniforms and then use an online store to upload photos and order the buttons. This volunteer needs to be free for one or two afternoons (a couple of hours each) to take pictures. Ideally, the buttons are available for pick up at Exhibition Night which is held at the end of August or by the first football game.
The Parent Rep is a dedicated source of information for families, informing parents of everything going on in the band, updating the spring and fall Parent Guides and holding parent meetups.
Handmade holiday ornaments are made for each student and distributed during the Winter Concert in December. Volunteers are needed to design and make these keepsake ornaments.
Each spring, the Westwood Band celebrates another successful year with a banquet planned collaboratively with the band student leadership and WABB. Help is needed with ticket sales, program design, decorations, coordinating catering, photo booth, greeters, etc. The amount of time volunteers spend depends upon the theme selected. There is no minimum time. The most time is spent on the day of the banquet when volunteers descend upon the cafeteria and transform it for the event.
Another Westwood Band tradition is that each graduating senior is given a mini Blockhead at the banquet as a token of their dedication to band. Volunteers are needed to handmake each 12" Blockhead.
The seniors wear a rose boutonniere during their final concert. Help is needed to prepare the boutonnieres as well as hand them out to the seniors at the spring concert.
In the Spring, WABB sells mulch to friends and neighbors in the community. Parents with pickup trucks are needed, as well as those with pull-behind trailers, to supplement the box trucks we rent for deliveries (student volunteers lift the mulch bags so we just need drivers). Several parents are also needed to drive students in a caravan, following the trucks on their delivery route. Parents also help as truck navigators. Mulch is typically delivered on a single Saturday, but we may also make a short delivery run the Friday afternoon prior to the Saturday. A minimum of 4 hours is suggested.
