Volunteering for SPF

The Foundation provides ample opportunities for volunteering, from one off engagements for students looking how to fulfill their community hours, to leadership positions in the festivals that SPF produces, and up to SPF Officer and Director positions. SPF is all volunteer organization and doesn’t have any paid staff.

The biggest opportunity is at Polish Festival Seattle that the Foundation produces since 2012 in cooperation with the Seattle Center and several local Polish organizations. The Festival is part of Festal, that is the lineup of 25 biggest ethnic festivals in Seattle that take place at the Seattle Center and is attended by estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people. It typically takes 200+ volunteers to stage the Festival and involves anything from Polish food preparation, through children activities, demos, staffing different booths, emc-ing events on two stages (in the Armory building and at the Mural Amphitheater),  to vendor management, ticket sales, PR and more!

The first Festival Committee in 2012

The Festival is run by the Festival Committee with Alisa Lahti serving as the Director of the Festival. Besides the rush of activities around the day of the Festival, there is a lot of preparatory work done way ahead of time; in fact the preparations start in winter and get into full swing in the spring of each year. Contacting and signing up different performing groups, vendors and sponsors, and of course fundraising, are all necessary homework that is crucial for the success of the Festival. In fact, check this Festival committee page to see how many different areas need volunteer involvement. We even ask local governments of Polish regions that are the focus of Festival presentation in a given year for their support! Please visit the Polish Festival volunteer page for more info.

Another big event that SPF runs every year since 2006 is Pierogi Fest. It’s held on second Saturday of May at the Polish Cultural Center on Capitol Hill in Seattle, with attendance estimated around 900-1000 people. It’s organized with cooperation of the Polish Home Association and Polish Women’s Club. This event needs about 50 volunteers and is smaller than Polish Festival. John Golubiec serves as the Pierogi Fest manager since 2013. Please contact John at [email protected] if you would like to help with this event!