Gillette
GILLETTE SHIFTS FOR 2022 ARE NOW OPEN FOR SIGNUP! FULL SCHEDULE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
We are always looking for people to help us work at our stand during events at Gillette Stadium, including Patriots and Revolution games, concerts, and more!
Every student who is in our program benefits from the volunteer hours worked at Gillette Stadium. With an annual budget of approx. $100,000 across all of our programs, Gillette is THE SINGLE BIGGEST fundraiser available to our families and students, earning the DSMA $35,000 every year on average, and in 2021/2022 brought in $50,000 for our programs!
Did you know…?
- Every Gillette volunteer earns over $200 per shift for the Dartmouth music programs
- Each volunteer earns $25 towards their student’s trip assessment, and every fifth shift you work you earn $50
- Volunteers can be family members or friends, we’ve even had DHS teachers volunteer to help out in the past!
- Gillette funds pay for our trucks that move equipment to every show, props, flags, costumes, music performance rights, and stipends for drill/music staff
- A fully staffed booth earns our students extra money in the form of bonuses from Gillette
- This fundraiser helps prevent families from having to pay monthly dues or $1000+ participation fees, as some other programs the size of ours require
This is a great way to earn some of your assessment money for the fall and indoor seasons. You can invite other family members and friends to volunteer as well – the more volunteers you bring, the more you earn towards your assessment.
Make a fun day of it while earning money for your students and for the Dartmouth music program. Our kids put in countless hours practicing and learning their performances, and volunteering a few shifts every year is the least we can do to help support them.
What does the DSMA do at Gillette Stadium?
The DSMA schedule usually consists of approx. 22 events each year, where we send volunteers to Gillette Stadium to help staff a Stadium Pizza stand. Events include Patriots and New England Revolution games, concerts, NCAA lacrosse and football games, and other special events like monster truck rallies. The schedule is released in the spring time, and popular events will quickly fill up as parents, family members, and friends sign up for concerts and games.
We need to send at least 10-12 volunteers per shift to consider the stand fully staffed, however we can sometimes send up to 15-16 volunteers. The more people that offer to help work a shift, the more money we earn for our kids and the Dartmouth music programs!
What does a volunteer shift at Gillette look like?
A typical day starts with everyone leaving Dartmouth for Foxboro around 1 – 1.5 hours before our report time, which is usually 3 hours prior to the event start time (for example, for an event that starts at 8pm, our report time will most often be some time around 5pm).
Volunteers will often check the sign up page to see who else has volunteered for that event so they can arrange carpooling to and from the stadium. All of the cars driving to Gillette are provided with special parking passes for volunteer lots; if we need to park in a lot further away from the stadium Gillette supplies shuttle busses to drop everyone off right at the entrance to the stadium.
After checking in at the gate (and be sure anything you bring with you meets NFL/Gillette Stadium guidelines please!), you’ll head to our pizza stand where you’ll find the uniforms provided for all of our volunteers. Gillette provides shirts, visors, and aprons. Volunteers need to wear black pants or shorts and comfortable closed-toe footwear. If you have a Revolution or Patriots hat, you can opt to wear that at those teams’ games instead of the provided visors at many events!
As soon as DSMA volunteers begin arriving at the stand, it’s time to do inventory just to make sure everything in stock matches the Gillette paperwork. Everyone helps out, and the inventory is usually done quickly. Our assigned Gillette stand manager will let everyone know how much food is expected to be sold during our shift; our stand sells pizza, hot dogs, fried dough, nachos, popcorn, candy, and beverages including beer. Volunteers are usually assigned a role based on their experience in the stand, and first-time volunteers are given plenty of help and instructions on what needs to be done. Usually volunteers have one of three roles – cook, cashier, or runner (usually reserved for students aged 16-18 who have volunteered to help raise money). Experienced volunteers are given manager roles, such as kitchen manager or inventory manager to help keep everything running smoothly.
Once the gates open, time passes quickly! As soon as the shutters go up on our stand, we’re selling all that food to hungry patrons for the next few hours. Our stand can be very busy, between event attendees looking for food, Gillette staff coming in and out to change inventory, and our assigned manager checking in.
As the event wraps up and the patrons leave, it’s time to close up, clean the stand, and take our closing inventory. Once our assigned Gillette manager confirms our inventory count, it’s time to head to the shuttle busses to begin the ride home, knowing that we just helped raise $2000+ for our music programs in just that one shift.
To sign up for an event:
- Please click here to sign up for an event.
- If you cannot attend an event you have signed up for, you must find a replacement.
- We will notify you of the final details of the event once our parking passes arrive from our manager at Gillette, normally 1-2 days prior to the event.
- Leave Dartmouth 1 to 1.5 hours before check-in to get there on time.
2022 Gillette events:
Saturday May 21: GARTH BROOKS concert (call time 2pm, event start 7pm)
Saturday June 4: MONSTER JAM (call time 4:30pm, event start 7pm)
Sunday June 19: REVS vs MINNESOTA (call time 4:30pm, event start 8pm)
Saturday July 30: REVS vs TORONTO (call time 4:30pm, event start 8pm)
Thursday August 11: PATRIOTS vs GIANTS preseason (call time TBD, event start 7pm)
Friday August 19: PATRIOTS vs PANTHERS preseason (call time TBD, event start 7pm)
Friday August 26: KENNY CHESNEY DAY 1 (call time TBD)
Saturday August 27: KENNY CHESNEY DAY 2 (call time TBD)
Sunday August 28: REVS vs LA GALAXY (call time 4:30pm, event start 8pm)
Friday September 9: RAMMSTEIN (call time TBD)
Sunday September 25: PATRIOTS vs RAVENS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Sunday October 9: PATRIOTS vs LIONS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Monday October 24: PATRIOTS vs BEARS (call time TBD, event start 8:15pm)
Sunday November 6: PATRIOTS vs COLTS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Sunday November 20: PATRIOTS vs JETS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Thursday December 1: PATRIOTS vs BILLS (call time TBD, event start 8:15pm)
Saturday December 24: PATRIOTS vs BENGALS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Sunday January 1: PATRIOTS vs DOLPHINS (call time TBD, event start 1pm)
Questions?
Contact Rachel Hutson & Sue Benoit gillette@dsmahome.org