FAQ

It's easy! Create your volunteer profile, mark any interests you have to receive emails on related opportunities, and sign up for anything that floats your boat! You can search for opportunities filtered by interest, or check out our calendar of upcoming/highest need opportunities on the Current Volunteer Opportunities page.

We ask that youth under the age of 15 years old are accompanied by a parent of guardian who can supervise tasks and that you contact the event organizer beforehand to verify the availability of child friendly positions.

Most of the time, yes! The Cascade Bicycle Club office is dog-friendly and many of our volunteer opportunities take place outside. Prior consent from the Volunteer Team is required and all volunteers assisting in the role must consent to having an animal present. Additional consent from site partners may also be required.

Cascade Bicycle Club dog-friendly office policy

Cascade Bicycle Club’s Magnuson Park office is a dog-friendly environment. Keeping dogs in the workplace, however, must be considered a privilege and as such, requires complete responsibility on the part of the owners. Dog owners should be aware that not all employees or visitors like dogs in the office or at volunteer sites, and in some cases people with allergies cannot tolerate being in close proximity to animals.

To be respectful of all employees, volunteers and riders at Cascade, while attempting to allow volunteer dog owners the ability to bring dogs to opportunities when appropriate, the following policy will apply:

Please read carefully BEFORE bringing your dog to your volunteer site:

• Bringing a dog should be viewed as a temporary solution vs. an everyday occurrence. A reasonable rule of thumb is 1-2 days a week. (Appropriate exceptions for service animals are permitted to provide accessibility for people with disabilities.) Volunteers should not plan to "raise" or keep their dogs at the Cascade Bicycle Club office or volunteer sites.
• Dog owners need to get approval from the Volunteer Team and volunteers at relevant volunteer sites prior to bringing the pet to a volunteer opportunity to ensure no one near them has concerns or allergies. The Volunteer Team can check with any other volunteers who will be present during your time at a site/opportunity.
• Some staff, volunteers and visitors might not be comfortable with and/or are scared of dogs, regardless of how well trained or mellow the dogs are - please be mindful of this. Aggressive behavior, such as growling, barking, chasing, or biting, is unacceptable and the pet will have to be taken home with the first complaint. Any bites/nips and the dog is not permitted to return.
• Any behavior which interferes with an employee or volunteer's ability to work will be cause for a pet to be taken home (interference is in the eye of the beholder). Another example might be excessive odors from the dog.
• All dogs must be supervised and cannot be left while the owner is not present. Dogs should not be unattended at anytime. Dogs are expected to be on leashes at all times; exceptions would be if the dog is contained in an office/cube area. Dogs should not be running around unattended. 
• Dog owners must clean up after their dogs. Dogs will be dogs, but the caretakers need to be responsible pet owners.
• Dog owners are financially responsible for any damage or cleaning to Cascade and/or partner facilities where a volunteer opportunity is being held. This includes damage from accidents, excessive pet hair and odor removal.
• Dogs with evidence of fleas will be asked to go home until the problem has been alleviated.
• Dogs must be properly licensed and vaccinated and owners must maintain adequate liability insurance against dog mishaps.
• Cascade assumes no responsibility for any pet.

Grounds for (canine) dismissal

We love your fluffy friend, but there are several no-nos that can get your dog uninvited--sometimes for good. They are:

• Aggressive behavior, such as growling, barking or chasing. You may be asked to take the pet home at the first complaint. Cascade has a zero tolerance policy for bites/nips; the dog will not be permitted to return.
• Persistent, distracting attributes. Any persistent attribute (such as excessive odors or noise) that interferes with another employee or volunteer's ability to work may be grounds for doggie dismissal.
• Repeated “accidents.” If your dog poops, pees or vomits repeatedly indoors, he or she will be asked to go home and not return. You must clean up after your dog. If permanent damage is done, the dog owners are financially responsible for any associated costs. This includes damage from accidents, excessive pet hair and odor removal.
• Fleas. Pets with evidence of fleas will be asked to go home until he or she is flea-free.

Any volunteer or employee with any concerns may speak to HR confidentially

Following these guidelines mentioned above should allow dog owners to enjoy the company of their pets while allowing all Cascade volunteers, employees and visitors to feel safe and secure in their workplace. Please talk with Human Resources if you have questions.

In most cases, no. However, background checks are required for any volunteer opportunities that work closely with minors. If a background check is required, it will be explicitly stated in the opportunity description with steps to complete one.

Wear what you're comfortable in! Many volunteer opportunities are active, requiring you to be on your feet and moving around. Cascade provides all volunteers with a Cascade Bicycle Club Volunteer t-shirt at their first volunteer opportunity. Be sure to update your t-shirt size in your volunteer profile so we can ensure we have one that fits you! We do ask that all volunteers wear close-toed shoes and dress for the weather if your role is outdoors.

Reimbursements may take up to 60 days to arrive after submission. See the below table for a breakdown of reimbursements. Reimbursement forms can be found here:https://cascade.org/volunteer-reimbursements.

Of course! You can view and print your volunteer history yourself to provide it to your institution/governing agency. If you require your volunteer history to be printed on company letterhead, contact the Volunteer Team and we'll help you out!

You can view your upcoming volunteer shifts by logging into your volunteer profile and clicking "View or Cancel Registration for an Upcoming Opportunity" on your volunteer dashboard.

You can cancel an upcoming volunteer shift by logging into your volunteer profile and clicking "View or Cancel Registration for an Upcoming Opportunity" on your volunteer dashboard. You can also cancel a registration via the link in your confirmation email your received from your initial registration.

In most cases, you will receive a detailed online volunteer guide via your confirmation email after registering for an opportunity. Your guide will indicate whether an online or in-person orientation is required. In most cases, orientations are held virtually using Google Meet where we'll go over your responsibilities, housekeeping items and answer any questions you may have. Occasionally, no orientation will be required and you'll receive any necessary training when you arrive at your shift. Either way, it will be explicitly stated in the opportunity description or in the volunteer guide whether an orientation is required and how that orientation will be delivered.

If you're unable to attend an orientation, contact the Volunteer Team so we can make other arrangements for you!

You can redeem your volunteer hours for all sorts of great perks, including:

• Free Cascade membership (individual and family)
• Free ride registrations, including Tours
• Adult education class at Cascade

Look up your usable hours balance on the Benefits page, then follow the instructions at the bottom to redeem your hours!

*Usable hours are updated monthly. If you find your hours aren't what you were expecting, email us!

Yes. Every October 1, only hours earned since the last October 1 will be carried over, meaning you can have a maximum of up to two years’ worth of hours in your account. For example:

• Starting October 1, 2024, any hours earned prior to October 1, 2023 will roll off of your account.
• On October 1, 2025, any hours earned prior to October 1, 2024 will roll off.
   

Nope, hours can only be used to purchase a full registration. You cannot split payment between hours and another form of payment.

Yes! You can transfer all or some of your usable hours balance. There are a couple requirements to consider before submitting your request:

• Whomever you'd like to give your hours to must also have a volunteer profile at Cascade
• Only hours displayed in the usable hours balance tool can be transferred

Ready? All you need to do is email us with the following information:

• Your full name and email as it appears in your volunteer profile
• Full name and email of the person you want to transfer hours to, as it appears in their volunteer profile
• Number of hours you'd like to transfer

That's it! We'll reply to your email once the process is complete and you and your buddy will see your usable hours balance adjusted within 30 days. If your buddy wants to redeem those hours before the tool displays their new balance, just let us know and we'll adjust their balance behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, no. There are several contributing factors as to why these two points systems are separate and have differing values. Because of this, Ride Leader credits and Volunteer hours cannot be combined. When redeeming either Ride Leader credits or Volunteer hours, the whole redemption amount must come from one or the other, not both.