Someone asked me last year what would scare me the most about Asmbly. I immediately thought about how rough it would be if our volunteers and leads decided to leave. Without the commitment, time and energy from all of them, this place would not have turned into what it is. It wouldn’t be maintained as well and it wouldn’t be as wonderful of a place to make things.
Many of our volunteer leads became one through a combination of passion and availability, and of course the perk of being able to use the space. However, there is a cost. Many leads have spoken to me about not being able to work on their own projects because when they walk in the building people want to talk to them. It’s great that they’ve established that presence but also takes some of the fun out of being involved. Staff isn’t immune either; we can sometimes lose track of boundaries if our expectations aren’t clear.
Something we can all do to help ensure leads and volunteers can enjoy the space they spend so much time working on is to politely ask them first if they are on personal time or Asmbly time. When headphones are in, be respectful and opt to send a message, email, or wait for a time when they’re not in a creative flow.
If you don’t know who the lead is in your space you can find them in this link below. When you see one of them walking around, tell them thank you and ask them what are they making today.