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VANOC still needs more beds in corridor

If none are found volunteers will have to be bused from Vancouver

 

Beds or bodies.

Those are top of the "needed" list as Olympic organizers countdown to Games time in Whistler with just 78 days to go.

Organizers need 700 beds or the same number of residents with accommodation to meet volunteer needs in the 2010 venues.

Right now there are more than enough volunteers but the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has to bus them up from Vancouver everyday, a two-hour bus ride one way.

"We are really committed to ensuring the volunteers have the best experience they can have and reducing that travel time in and out of the corridor all the way to Vancouver will make a big difference in their ability to work well, sleep well, make friends - all the experiences we want them to have at Games time," said Maureen Douglas of VANOC.

Douglas said help could come from three places:

• Locals or new residents who now know what their schedules will be during the Games and can make a commitment to volunteer.

• Second homeowners who have now nailed down their plans and can lend a spare bedroom to a volunteer or let friends and family stay in their corridor home to help out at Games time.

• Sea to Sky residents who can now commit to being part of the Homestay program.

Douglas said there are many interesting volunteer positions still available in IT, reservations, driving and in the media centres at the venues.

Paralympic volunteers are needed as well.

Schedules can be flexible she said, with some positions even starting before the Olympics begin on Feb. 12.

VANOC is well aware, said Douglas, that many residents will be working flat out during the Olympics, with many juggling their family needs as well.

But, she said, volunteer positions have all kinds of hours to try and work with people's busy lives.

For more information go to the volunteer site of www.vancouver2010.com .

If people want to offer a bed to a volunteer contact VANOC at info@vancouver2010.com .

In all about 6,000 people are needed to stage the 2010 Games in the Whistler area.