Thank a geocaching volunteer today

Whether you started geocaching in 2000 or just recently gotten into the hobby, today is a great day to thank a geocaching volunteer. May 22nd marks the geocaching world’s third annual Thank a Volunteer Day. If you’ve found a cache, hidden a cache, read or posted in the Geocaching forums, or used Geocaching.com or the Geocaching App® in a language other than English, you’ve benefited from the amazing efforts of these volunteers.

There are more than 400 passionate and dedicated geocaching community members who volunteer their time behind the scenes. These include reviewers, EarthCache reviewers, translators, and forum moderators who keep the game in motion all over the world!

Volunteers are also all cache owners and event hosts. They channel their creativity and innovative spirit into building incredible gadget caches, hosting regular local gatherings, joining Mega-Event planning committees, promoting the Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF), or making Cache In Trash Out® (CITO) their life philosophy.

So many geocaching volunteers give to the game every day. Here are some ways to celebrate and support them any day of the year:

1. Send a note to your local reviewers to show your appreciation.
2. Contact your regional geocaching organization to thank them for their work.
3. Get in touch with geocachers who regularly host CITOs and say “Thanks!”
4. Thank your favorite cache hider—they are volunteers, too!
5. Award a Favorite point to an exceptional cache.
6. Write a nice log for the latest event you attended or a high-quality cache you found.
7. If you live in a non-English speaking country, post a thank you note in your local geocaching Facebook page.
8. Visit the Geocaching Forums and give a shout out to the forum moderators.

Here is a little more about the different types of Community Volunteers:

Reviewers (including EarthCache reviewers) support cache owners to ensure every geocache follows geocaching and local guidelines. Each geocache you find or hide has received guidance and support from a community volunteer. EarthCache reviewers use their expertise in geology to ensure a quality geological learning experience with every EarthCache.

Translators translate the website, apps, and other resources into local languages all over the world. If you’re reading this in a language other than English, that’s due to a translator’s efforts!

Moderators keep a pulse on the Geocaching Forums and ensure conversations are helpful, positive, and stay on-topic.

Other geocaching volunteers include cache owners and event hosts:

Cache owners often take you to hidden local gems and have an eye for breathtaking locations. Their caches give direction to your epic caching journeys. They make the time spent at ground zero  memorable with their engineering abilities, impressive craftsmanship, and by reimagining everyday items into amazing caches. Here are some of the great cache hiders we interviewed in the past: goblindust, cachedweeb, jewilk1, IronManiacGLD, tcapitano, and bouncebounce.

Event hosts highlight social aspects of geocaching. They may host monthly breakfast socials that you visited many times over the years. They organize elaborate Mega-Events hundreds of miles away that you look forward to attending for months. Lastly, they bring people together to watch geocaching videos during GIFF season, or clean up the game board and give back to local land managers during CITO events.

How have volunteers elevated your geocaching? Let us know in the comments below!