Witches, ghosts and vampires are volunteering to entertain Lincoln residents. And so are a few basketball players and a couple Frankensteins, for that matter.
All across the city, individuals, non-profits and business are donating time and money to give children (and kids at heart) a spook-tacular Halloween.
The Lincoln Jaycees rely entirely on volunteer labor to build, maintain and sell tickets to their event, "Chamber of Terror."
The haunted house, located at 128 N. 16th Street, opened Oct. 12 and will close Oct. 31. They expect about 3,000 thrill-seekers and depend on 20-25 volunteers each night to act in the show, said Bob Nosky, building manager and Jaycees haunted house chairperson.
Jaycees members often join to become involved in the haunted house, Nosky said. That was his reason for joining.
"I like building things, and I like helping," he said.
Brad Cornelius, Jaycees chairperson of the board, has been a member since 1994. He's been helping with the haunted house since 1993.
He said that while individual Jaycees members participate in the show, the majority of the volunteers are service groups from Lincoln.
Groups provide the volunteers to staff the house and in return, receive a share of the proceeds.
Josh Cramer, coordinator for TeamMates, an adult to child mentoring program, said they've never participated in the haunted house before this year. After a Jaycees member contacted his group, Cramer said they decided they could use the haunted house as a helpful fundraiser.
Cramer said they'd use the funds to recruit, screen and train new mentors. He said TeamMates is an ideal program for students wanting to give back to their community.
"Our program gives UNL students an opportunity to help the community one student at a time," Cramer said. The program, he said, encourages volunteers to "use your own creativity" in developing and hosting fundraisers.
Amy Miller, a TeamMates mentor, wasn't acting in the show this year. She was going through as a thrill seeker.
Miller said she'd considered bringing her fifth grade mentee along, but decided the haunted house might be too scary for him. She said she'd bring him next time, if she didn't get scared.
With 12 rooms full of ghosts, vampires and falling walls, Miller said she hoped she wouldn't scream and embarrass herself.
"I haven't been to a haunted house since I was ten," she said.
Volunteers looking for a less frightening Halloween alternative can "monkey around" at the Lincoln Folsom's Children's Zoo and Botanical Center Oct. 26-31.
Cheryl Dahl, development director for the zoo, said its Halloween event "Boo at the Zoo" is very volunteer-driven.
Volunteers from local businesses supervise "spook sponsor stations." For a $3.00 purchase of a trick-or-treat bag, children and their parents can collect goodies from 28 different booths, Dahl said.
Other individuals volunteer to sell tickets, drive the Goblin Express train ride through the zoo and entertain those waiting in line, she said. She estimated that 200 volunteers will serve the expected 20,000 trick-or-treaters.
"The volunteers' impact is huge," she said.
Dahl said that because the sponsors continue to come back each year, there's a waiting list for businesses wishing to run a booth. There's also a list of entertainers waiting for a chance to entertain those waiting in line. Interested volunteers should contact the zoo in early September, Dahl said
This year, Mayor Coleen Seng and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln men's basketball team will kick off "Boo at the Zoo," Oct. 26 at 5:30 p.m., she said. The Capital City Cloggers, a choir from Southeast High School and the musical group String Beans will perform the following days for trick-or-treaters waiting to get into the zoo, Dahl said.
Since the zoo is closed from Oct. 15-April 15, revenue to feed the animals is generated through "Boo at the Zoo" and other fundraisers throughout the year.
Claire Shannon, the Lincoln Children's Museum's coordinator for special events, said they are celebrating All Hallow's Eve with Halloween Hurrah Oct. 27 from 6-8 p.m.
She said 20-25 volunteers would be there to help set up, hand out candy and take down their displays. Children will trick-or-treat through the museum's miniature town.
Volunteers will be stationed in different areas throughout the museum. In the grocery store section of the museum, they will be dressed as store clerks. Doctors will await trick-or-treaters in the hospital, and volunteers in firefighter suits will pass out goodies by the fire truck.
Shannon said the volunteers, most of whom are members of the museum, also addressed and sent out 750 invitations to Halloween Hurrah.
"We rely greatly on the volunteers for all of our events," she said.
Lincoln residents who are interested in helping with Halloween Hurrah should contact the museum in September.
Students interested in volunteering their time this Halloween can contact Autumn Hout, president of the Silver Wings chapter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Silver Wings is a non-profit national organization that's run in partnership with UNL's ROTC program.
The organization plans to volunteer at the Hy-Vee food store located on 27th and Superior streets in an event called "Walk in the Stalks."
Chris Hamilton, Manager of Store Operations, said the 8th annual event will take place from 4 to 7 on Halloween night in the store's parking lot.
Local businesses that have been solicited will set up booths in a maze where volunteers hand out candy and other goods to trick-or-treaters who pay a $2 admission fee. Dairy Queen, Pepsi, and even Hair Crafters, along with many local businesses are expected to participate, Hamilton said.
"Without the volunteers we would have to staff the event ourselves," he said. "There's no way we could do it without (them)."
Hamilton said all proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Last year, over 2,700 children participated in the event, he said.
"We're very conscientious of the cost ... so we can give the most of that dollar back to JDRF," he said.
Hout said Silver Wings would welcome any non-member volunteers by contacting her through email: ahout@bigred.unl.edu.
Halloween Happenings
