Do not postpone the cultivation of devotion to God. Start serving God through service to your fellow-beings. Every act of service, however small, is service to the Divine. — Sathya Sai Sai Speaks vol16 page 18, 1983
Devotees are encouraged to volunteer for any seva opportunity that appeals to them. To practice Unity in Thought, Word and Deed, all volunteers are requested to follow-up on their commitments. This is your commitment to Swami.
Please review carefully the service opportunities that are briefly outlined including the timings. Please Note: as you volunteer, you might have to miss some of the programs because of conflicting timings. Most activities require 2-3 hours of commitment. The retreat is made possible by the efforts of many dedicated volunteers.
Note that Sai Centers will be signing up to take responsibility for some of the service areas. Please check with your center before volunteering to ascertain whether your center would like you to participate in the service they have committed to. Centers and the retreat service coordinators will also be looking for additional volunteers from those that sign up to perform service via this registration form.
For further information on service opportunities, please contact:
This group goes up to the campsite a few days before the retreat to set up the altar. Support is needed at the campsite on Wednesday/Thursday before the retreat. Please sign up for this service by selecting to come and help on Wednesday/Thursday during registration.
This group takes care of the Audio/Visual system requirements during the retreat. They help transport, set up and monitor sound systems for SSE programs, Young Adults meeting room and workshop venues.
Committed volunteers are needed to transform the campsite into an ashram, where all can enjoy an uplifting, spiritual experience. This is done on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Setup needs to be completed prior to our first bhajan session on Friday evening. A large number of volunteers are needed in the devotion hall to help with setting up of the altar, decorations, placing signs and banners throughout the campsite, and setting up devotion and dining halls.
We all want to beat the traffic and head home as soon as possible, but our goal is to leave the camp in a better condition than when we arrived. If you can stay back and help with the camp cleanup, it would be greatly appreciated. Please note that this is a much needed service. We are very grateful to those who assist in our retreat’s closing activities.
This service involves going to each cabin and ensuring that the cabin and the restrooms therein are returned clean and report any "lost and found" to the service desk. Please note that this is a much needed service. We are very grateful to those who assist in our retreat’s closing activities.
This service involves taking down of props and cleaning up of Devotion Hall on Sunday afternoon after all the programs. This also includes getting all items into the storage room and organizing. Please note that this is a much-needed service. We are very grateful to those who assist in our retreat’s closing activities.
Maintenance of the devotion hall, including ushering of devotees, preparing for programs/workshops, etc.
This service involves setting up the dining area, keeping it clean, and lovingly serving all devotees. Please note that this seva does not involve cooking. Do not check off this service for the period that you are participating in cooking a meal with your center.
Support staff for service opportunities in the kitchen - including chopping, prepping, cooking meals and clean-up.
This service involves cleaning up the kitchen and the dining area after the early lunch on Sunday. Please note that this is a much needed service. We are very grateful to those who assist in our retreat’s closing activities.
This group will assist in transporting devotees' luggage to/from the parking lots, registration area and the cabins.
Doctors and support staff will be available on call to deal with medical emergencies. Please contact Sri Akella (sri.akella01@gmail.com) if you are an Allopathic/Osteopathic Physician licensed to practice in the State of Pennsylvania and interested in providing Medical / Emergency Support during the Retreat.
This is the first impression that devotees will get of the retreat. After a long journey, seeing a friendly, helpful parking attendant will go a long way in making the devotee feel welcome.
Capturing campsite events for posterity.
Working with camp authorities to separate recyclable materials for easy disposal.
These volunteers keep an eye on the rest rooms and other areas. Supplies and other resources will be provided.
These volunteers will be at the service desk which forms the central point of contact for devotees for all their needs. Service desk functions include matching attendees to the service activities they have committed to, serving as lost and found, disseminating messages, managing emergencies, dispatching golf carts, etc. They will ensure that problems with cabins are dealt with appropriately. They will have directions and information about nearest hospitals, hotels, bus stations, super markets, and other facilities.
In the devotion hall, help is needed in arranging and maintaining the shoes in an orderly fashion.
This involves working with SSE children. Please note that you will miss some of the main program and/or bhajans.We need SSE Parents and SSE Teachers to volunteer as Helping Hand.
For additional information, please contact Chetan Bhatt, Regional SSE Coordinator at cbhatt@optonline.net .
This involves supplying SSE students with snacks and water during breaks in the morning and afternoon and during SSE Games.
This involves helping the SSE children in their outdoor games and activities on Saturday morning.
Volunteers are needed to maintain the tranquility around Swami's room in two-hour slots from early morning till late evening.
This group takes care of rides to/from the nearest bus station, airport etc.
This is an aspect where memories created are kept for many years after the event. This will be a major service to all the devotees who are unable to attend the retreat or who were providing valuable seva in the areas identified in this section. Retreat videos are posted on the regional website. If you have camcorders/video equipment and are good at using them, then please consider signing up for this seva.
This service involves "arousing" the devotees from their slumber and alerting them to the start of a day filled with spiritual activities. Please check the timings involved.
Please help us reduce the Retreat's carbon footprint by bringing back one or two bags of recyclable items (to recycle along with your usual household curbside recycling pick-up service) in your vehicle when returning from the retreat site (As there is no locally available or feasible option to recycle the recyclable items we collect at the retreat).
God will not ask you, when and where you rendered service? He will ask with what motive you did it. You may boast about the quantity, but God seeks quality, the quality of the heart, the purity of the mind, the nobility of the motive. The Lord is pleased only when you do the things He desires. How else can you win His grace, but by nursing and nourishing His children. — March 19, 2008 Thought for the Day
