This initiative is aimed at volunteering during the month of December each year, within your local community.
How did it work in previous years?
1. Join `#GiveLab` in Slack by mid-November of that year and start searching for a local initiative you can support.
2. This initiative include's any form of volunteering! Some examples to help you search: volunteering to create a quick and easy website for a soup kitchen, helping a non-profit fix bugs in their app, collecting trash at your local park, serving at a soup-kitchen, putting together a small box of things for kids in underprivilegde community, reading at a local childrens-home or shelter.
3. Share your volunteering on social media and tag @gitlab and use the tag: #GiveLab\
*GitLab social handles may engage with and/or share your post.*\
*The ability to share posts is dependent on their demands at the time and is not promised.*
4. Thank you for taking part and helping us spread some love!
We are iterating on whether we will be continuing with this process at the moment [in this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/people-group/General/issues/528)
How did it work in previous years?
1. Join `#secret-snowflake` in Slack by mid-November of that year and give a thumbsup.
2. You'll receive an email to enroll. Click on the link to be taken to the app where you can list your wishes.
**Avoid the ads, you don't need to click further to login**
3. Enter your address (please add this as a wishlist item with the format Address: " "), and then find out who you will ship a present to.
4. Get a present, and ship it!
**budget: €20 (does not include shipping)**
5. Finally! It arrived! Unpack it, take a picture, and thank your match in the `#secret-snowflake` channel on Slack to let them know that the gift has been received!
6. Perfectly content, you wait until next year to participate again.
**Tips:**
- It is also helpful to add a website or link to your wishlist that allows for easy/cost effective international shipping. If you have any issues shipping the present to your buddy, feel free to reach out to People Ops in Slack to assist in finding a local retailer.
- If you have not received your gift by January 15th, or are unsure if your match received the gift you sent, please reach out to People Ops.
*Note: By participating in Secret Snowflake you grant your match access to your address via People Ops.*
### Organizing Secret Snowflake
1. Ensure there is a `#secret-snowflake` channel
1. Announce the deadline on the company call and in the `#company-announcements` channel with a link to this page as well as a disclaimer that this activity gives the People Group the right to share your address with your match.
**After the November deadline**
1. Use [an organizer platform](https://www.secretsantaorganizer.com/) to automatically create matches and send emails.
1. Test the platform before sending out all emails to participants.
1. Add emails and create matches
*During this time, make sure to follow up any issues that may arise.*
**After January 15**
Ensure all participants received their present.
#### F.A.Q.
**1. Can I go over budget?**
No. Maybe €2.
**2. Can I go under budget?**
That is perfectly fine. It is more important to give something awesome than to spend € 20.
**3. What if I have to ship something to the other side of the world?**
You don't have to, there are eCommerce apps/websites in most countries. Let them do the heavy lifting! If you can't come up with a solution, please ask @zj on Slack.
**4. Shipping my trebuchet will be expensive, can I take it with me to the next Contribute and give it there?**
For a full size trebuchet I'll make an exception, other than that, please do not bring your gift to the next Contribute. This means a couple of things:
1. The other participant has to have some spare room in their suitcase
1. Some people will already have a gift, I wouldn't be able to handle the suspense!
1. No clue, just ship it!
**5. Can I add a poem to the package?**
So, if you're referring to the good old [Sinterklaasgedichten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas), yes! You can and should! Just keep in mind not everyone is familiar with tone usually used in them.
**6. Cool idea, but I'd rather not be a participant this year.**
