RNC in Milwaukee will launch drive to recruit 6,000 volunteers
About 6,000 volunteers will be needed to pull off the Republican National Convention in downtown Milwaukee this summer, according to the MKE 2024 Host Committee’s chief operating officer.
“Those volunteers will help have an impact on the global stage because the way you’re greeted when you visit a city or a state makes a difference in your perception when you leave,” Host Committee COO Alison Prange told the Madison Rotary Club on Wednesday.
The convention is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to Milwaukee and turn an international spotlight on Wisconsin’s largest city when it takes place July 15-18.
About 1,000 people have already signed up to volunteer, she said.
The Host Committee is still coming up with job descriptions for the volunteers, though she said there are about 8,000 volunteer shifts that must be filled during the convention. Much of the duties will be greeting and providing directions; some will include helping with transportation.
Many of the shifts will be concentrated in Milwaukee, but there will also be some in Madison, Lake Geneva, Sheboygan and other locations where people will visit and stay, she said.
That means volunteer recruitment is taking place across the state so Wisconsinites are representing their own communities, she said.
“It’s how you experience a city,” she said. “We want real people that live here to be able to talk to the people that are visiting.”
Host Committee volunteers are not involved in the politics of the convention but rather in “making this a great experience for the RNC, its guests, its visitors, its delegates,” she said.
The volunteer campaign will kick off next week with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Prange said.
Those looking to volunteer can visit mke2024host.org/volunteers.
The 50,000 visitors, including 15,000 members of the media, that will be in Milwaukee present a “once-in-ageneration opportunity,” she said.
“Imagine this as four Super Bowls in a row and also imagine the infrastructure that goes into one Super Bowl,” she said. “We’re planning for four, when you think of four nights of a convention, not including our opening party.”
“Imagine this as four Super Bowls in a row ... imagine the infrastructure that goes into one Super Bowl.” Alison Prange Host Committee COO