Introducing Volunteer Options for Dallas Urbanists
Members can now pick from a variety of volunteer options. Whether you have a little time or a lot, there's a role to fit your strengths and schedule.
Starting today, our Membership Form has 18 new options so you can choose how you'd like to get involved with Dallas Urbanists STLC.
Already a member? Update your preferences here.
All volunteer roles are completely optional—if you’d rather just get updates about events and actions, feel free to skip them. The roles are designed to fit a range of interests and time commitments, from quick tasks like sending reminder texts to larger commitments with more impact. You can choose up to four roles, and they’re sorted from lightest to most involved to help you find the right fit.
Want to meet and exchange ideas with fellow urbanist volunteers? Come join us at our Dallas Urbanists Bimonthly Mixer🍻 this Saturday 5:00 PM at Ye Olde Scarlet Pumpernickel in Downtown Dallas!
Volunteer Options
There are 18 options, roughly ordered from easiest to most involved. The first 14 are occasional tasks, and we aim to have at least 2 volunteers for each.
I want to call/text reminders to volunteers
I want to write and send emails to members
I want to create graphics
I want to shoot photos
I want to write/edit articles
I want to setup and operate A/V equipment
I want to run meetings
I want to speak in front of groups
I want to translate content for non-English speakers
I want to be appear on-camera for videos
I want to organize events
I want to edit videos
I want to plan/produce video projects
I want to speak one-on-one with new volunteers after they submit this form.
The last 4 options are core roles that involve a weekly or daily time commitment.
Correspondent
Newsletter Author
Channel Manager
Project Leader
Correspondents
Dallas Urbanists STLC was created to connect the dots between key urban issues—public transit, cycling, housing, walkability, and more. When I started the group, I noticed that advocates often worked in silos: transit advocates weren’t aware of housing updates, housing advocates didn’t follow bike infrastructure, and so on. Our goal is to bridge those gaps and keep everyone informed.
Being informed is important, but being informed in time to act is even better, and no one person can track every issue with fast-approaching deadlines. That’s why we created the Correspondent role, where individuals focus on one or more local issues—like parking reform or the bike plan update—and share weekly notes on our Substack. It’s about two hours of work per week, including a brief 15-minute team call to share updates.
Newsletter Author
Dallas Urbanists is most active on Instagram, but we've consistently heard requests for an email newsletter—both from people who avoid social media and from followers who want updates without the noise. To meet that need, we’ve created a dedicated Newsletter Author role. Each week, this person gathers notes from our correspondents and spends 1–2 hours writing and publishing a Substack post, ensuring subscribers get timely, well-organized updates without overloading any one volunteer.
See our last post for a newsletter example.
Channel Manager
The Channel Manager is responsible for running one of Dallas Urbanists' social media platforms, ensuring content is regularly posted, profiles are kept up-to-date, and comments/messages are managed. This role requires about 20 minutes per day, with the Channel Manager actively engaging with followers, responding to inquiries, and sharing updates on issues related to urbanism. By having one person dedicated to each platform, we can maintain a consistent and engaging online presence while keeping the workload manageable.
Project Leader
Want to lead a campaign or initiative under the STLC banner? Whether it’s starting a book club, performing a walk audit, leading a Crash Analysis Studio, or organizing around a local neighborhood issue, we’d love to hear about it. Just fill out our membership form and select this volunteer option—we’ll follow up to talk about how we can help bring the urbanist community into your project.