Pick Up Tix

Learn more about this new Ticket-Service Exchange project.

Purpose:

Lots of valuable goods and services go to waste because people can't afford them or don't know about them. Likewise, lots of human potential goes to waste because it isn't harnessed in the dollar economy. What if you could trade a few hours of community service--cleaning up a local park, for example--for a ticket to an event in town? We believe that people's demand for tickets (or locally grown produce, or anything that would otherwise expire) could easily be harnessed to everyone's benefit with a locally-based service exchange.

How it works:

You hear about a cool upcoming event, and when you also hear that you can earn a ticket for helping with 4 hours of cleanup work in the park, you and a few friends decide to try to get tickets this way rather than by spending money and paying 'convenience fees'.

At 10:00 a.m. on cleanup day, your group arrives with packed lunches at the registration area in Golden Gate Park, and waits a few minutes to see one of the volunteers. Each of you shows proof that you are of age to participate, and signs a form taking responsibility for your own safety during the cleanup. A volunteer takes down your name and hands you a packet containing these materials:

a card or ticket on which a unique route number and four sections are printed, on which s/he has written your name, which will be used to verify your participation throughout the project;
bags for garbage and recycling; and
a half-liter container of water that has been donated by a local market.

The registration table has some sunscreen if you need to put some on, and offers some donated items for raffle or sale. The volunteers advise you all on your individual cleanup routes (and the location of the nearest restrooms); describe how, when, and where to stop by the volunteer stations to have your card stamped, refresh your sunscreen, refill your water, and/or exchange full bags for empty ones; and give you instructions on how, when, and where you can pick up the ticket you'll have earned.

By 10:30, everyone's set up with the necessary materials, and the volunteers have assigned each person to a narrow band of land. Since you and your friends arrived together, you'll cover adjacent strips of the park. Relaxed and ready to go, you all set out along your respective strips, talking along the way, walking together around fountains and other impenetrable parts of your path, and occasionally picking up cans and bottles for the recycling bag or throwing styrofoam food containers and other waste into the garbage bag. About forty-five minutes into your walk, you arrive near the volunteer station, where you take a fifteen-minute break, during which you sit for a while, stretch, empty your bags, get your cards stamped, and meet a few of the other participants.

Two more hour-long (45 minutes plus 'station break') stints--with a quick lunch break between them--later, and you've earned your ticket. At the station at the far end of the park, the volunteers are ready to take your cards and the garbage you've culled in return for the reward they hand (or mail) you. You listen to hear your name among those declared raffle winners while you and your friends are taking care of these final details, and wave farewell to the other people you met on the project. Four hours (three hours on the trail, 15 minutes for a group snack in the middle of the park from 12:30 to 12:45, and 30 minutes each for signup and signoff) have passed very quickly, the park looks spiffy, and it's time to get ready for the show.

Who's Involved:

Donor businesses would provide their excess tickets, or garbage bags, or fruit and water for the participants, in return for great p.r. (and maybe some income from concessions at the events). Business could also offer to print the 'timecards' needed to verify participation, or donate some items to be raffled or sold to benefit park maintenance.
Local organizers (a few volunteers or a larger NGO) would solicit donations from businesses (nightclubs, sports arenas, etc.), enroll volunteers to help for a few hours on public works projects in return for those goods, and then supervise the service project and distribute the expiring goods as payment for service.
Participants would spend a few hours outdoors with their neighbors, picking up trash or pulling weeds, and be paid for their time with some entertainment.
Everyone benefits because the park is cleaner and people are working together to make the most of what they have.

Scale of Operation

While some complicating issues may arise for larger projects, the overall exchange model is readily scaleable:

General Scenario
A hot upcoming event in your town promises an excellent performance--and also features a special promotion: a portion of the tickets have been reserved for participants in the local Pick Up Tix program, through which people can earn a free ticket with a few hours of community service cleaning up the park. This added 'human interest angle' prompts one of the local dailies to publish an article about the show on the front of the local news and events section, and soon the other local papers 'catch up' with their own small items about the show, highlighting how well businesses and community members are working together for the benefit of all park visitors. Interest in both the program and the event rises as a result of the exposure, rewarding everyone involved, keeping journalists busy, and delighting the local politicians.

INGREDIENTS SCALE

Small
(10s) Medium
(100s) Large
(1000s)

Businesses
donating their expiring goods (e.g. tickets). We've been working with this model since March 21st, 1997.
None of the performers, venues or promoters have agreed. They're just examples of situations where "Pick Up Tix" could work. An upcoming episode of West Coast Live: San Francisco's Radio Show to the World will feature an excellent artist or author, as usual, and also a special promotion: a couple dozen tickets have been reserved for participants in the local Pick Up Tix program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park. An upcoming show at the Fillmore Auditorium or the Great American Music Hall will feature excellent music, as usual, and also a special promotion: one hundred tickets have been reserved for participants in the local "Pick Up Tix" program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park An upcoming San Francisco professional sporting event, or a show at Shoreline Amphitheater or Concord Pavilion, will feature exciting entertainment, as usual, and also a special promotion: one thousand seats have been reserved for participants in the local "Pick Up Tix" program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park.

Participants: Spend just two hours cleaning up Marina Green the day of the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will win two passes to the next show. Spend just three hours cleaning up Fort Mason (or part of Ocean Beach) the weekend before the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will take home CDs and T-shirts. Spend half a day cleaning up Golden Gate Park the weekend before the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will get to sit in Acme.Com's corporate box

Local Volunteers and Organizers
Funding,
Permits,
Signup,
Verification,
Supervision,
Accounting
Set up & Remove materials

solicit donations
enlist volunteers
distribute materials
supervise participants
distribute tickets
haul trash

solicit donations
enlist volunteers
distribute materials
supervise and verify participation
distribute tickets
haul trash

solicit donations
enlist volunteers
distribute materials
supervise and verify participation
distribute tickets
haul trash

A few Materials:
donated tickets
checklist or stamps to verify service
garbage bags
basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants

donated tickets
stamped cards to verify service
garbage bags
basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants

donated tickets
stamped cards to verify service
garbage bags
basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants

INGREDIENTS	SCALE
Small (10s)	Medium (100s)	Large (1000s)
Businesses donating their expiring goods (e.g. tickets). We've been working with this model since March 21st, 1997. None of the performers, venues or promoters have agreed. They're just examples of situations where "Pick Up Tix" could work.	An upcoming episode of West Coast Live: San Francisco's Radio Show to the World will feature an excellent artist or author, as usual, and also a special promotion: a couple dozen tickets have been reserved for participants in the local Pick Up Tix program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park.	An upcoming show at the Fillmore Auditorium or the Great American Music Hall will feature excellent music, as usual, and also a special promotion: one hundred tickets have been reserved for participants in the local "Pick Up Tix" program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park	An upcoming San Francisco professional sporting event, or a show at Shoreline Amphitheater or Concord Pavilion, will feature exciting entertainment, as usual, and also a special promotion: one thousand seats have been reserved for participants in the local "Pick Up Tix" program, through which people can earn a free ticket by spending a few hours cleaning up the park.
Participants:	Spend just two hours cleaning up Marina Green the day of the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will win two passes to the next show.	Spend just three hours cleaning up Fort Mason (or part of Ocean Beach) the weekend before the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will take home CDs and T-shirts.	Spend half a day cleaning up Golden Gate Park the weekend before the show to win a free ticket (while supplies last, so get there early!). Some lucky raffle winners will get to sit in Acme.Com's corporate box
Local Volunteers and Organizers Funding, Permits, Signup, Verification, Supervision, Accounting Set up & Remove materials	solicit donations enlist volunteers distribute materials supervise participants distribute tickets haul trash	solicit donations enlist volunteers distribute materials supervise and verify participation distribute tickets haul trash	solicit donations enlist volunteers distribute materials supervise and verify participation distribute tickets haul trash
A few Materials:	donated tickets checklist or stamps to verify service garbage bags basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants	donated tickets stamped cards to verify service garbage bags basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants	donated tickets stamped cards to verify service garbage bags basic amenities (water, sunscreen, etc.) for participants

Questions to investigate:

The answers to these questions will vary depending on event, jurisdiction, and geography:

how many volunteers need to be enlisted in order to register all the participants in 30 minutes;
where to publicize the exchange offer;
how to handle any toxic materials (batteries, for example) that participants may discover during clean-up;
whether/how to solicit sponsorships and in-kind contributions (e. g., beverages or T-shirts for the participants, printed instruction/verification cards), and whether such gifts would be tax-deductible;
which local ordinances or park regulations would apply to each particular clean-up;
what to do in the case of bad weather;
what to do if too many people show up--take a waiting list and/or give a credit toward another event?
what legal requirements apply to raffles and contests?
how to assign participants to distinct clean-up areas or routes;
who will be held liable for participants' health and safety during clean-up;
and
how to instruct participants with respect to possible encounters with homeless people and their property in the parks.

Would you like to get involved?

Please mail us at zisk@well.com, or fill out the form below.

What would you like to know?

How could we improve this project or its web site?

Name and/or e-mail address:
Would you like a reply? Yes No

URLs you recommend:

Any links to Transaction Net sites?
How did you hear about us?

top of this page

For more ticket-related resources, check out the Well Tickets Conference, hosted by Brian Zisk and Steve Marcus.

**Current Transaction Net Features**
San FranZiskGo! Weekly Listings: Get Out of the House and Meet Some People	Spin Doctor's Web Design 101	Paulina Borsook's Unofficial Home Page	Create Your Own Currency
Shockwave Toons	Transaction Net home page	Ultimate San Fran	The Edge of Science

http://www.transaction.net/tix/index.html
zisk@well.com