Thank a Volunteer Day is May 22!

Geocaching can take you on captivating journeys of discovery almost anywhere in the world. You can find secret places, join a community of fellow adventurers, learn new things, and even create your own magic when you hide a new cache. From the thrill of exploration to the pure joy of a wonderfully creative cache, a huge part of this wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers who play a major role to make it all happen.

Whether you found a new geocache today, found one on a far-away vacation, have hidden a geocache, used Geocaching.com or the Geocaching® mobile app in a language other than English, or used our forums, you have a geocaching community volunteer to thank! There are several types of volunteers in the geocaching world who deserve our appreciation.

There are nearly 400 worldwide geocaching community volunteers, including reviewers, EarthCache reviewers (Geoawares), translators, and forum moderators. They dedicate their time to help keep the game in motion as they review geocaches to meet the geocaching and regional guidelines, translate our website and app, and keep our forums positive and helpful.

Other members of the community also volunteer their time. Cache owners use their creativity to create fun caches while also taking the time to maintain them. Event hosts and Mega- and Giga-Event organizing teams also volunteer their time and put in tremendous effort to provide amazing social experiences and huge amounts of fun for the community.

Interested in joining us to thank your local volunteers? Here are a few ideas:

  • Send a note to your local reviewers to show your appreciation.
  • Contact your regional geocaching organization to thank them for their work.
  • Get in touch with geocachers who regularly host CITOs and say “Thanks!”
  • Award a Favorite point along with your gratitude to a high-quality cache.
  • Mention how much you enjoyed an Event in your log.
  • Post a thank you note on your local geocaching Facebook page.
  • Create a video sharing your gratitude and post it on social media (make sure to tag us—we’d love to see it!).
  • Visit the Geocaching Forums and give a shout-out to the forum moderators.

Curious about what it’s like to be a geocaching community reviewer? Check out HQ’s reviewer podcast series to hear their experiences in their own words.

Geocaching community volunteers have an incredibly positive impact on the game and the geocaching community. Go to the official Geocaching Facebook page on Monday, May 22, to join us in saying a big ‘Thank You’ to the community’s volunteers.

Emily is a Community Volunteer Support Specialist at Geocaching HQ. She's a native Texan raised in the Midwest and enchanted by the Pacific Northwest. You can usually find her lost in a guidebook planning her next adventurous travels.