Some 160 volunteers are still needed to help make the annual Eucharistic Congress run smoothly.

The two-day event is a highlight of the Catholic Church in the Atlanta Archdiocese and the Southeastern region. The congress is scheduled to take place on June 12 and 13 at the Georgia International Convention Center, 2000 Convention Center Concourse, College Park.

Sue Stubbs, who works for the archdiocese as well as serving as a leader in organizing the helpers, said, “Volunteers are critical to the success of the event as they provide the backbone of all that goes on Friday and Saturday.”

Overall, the event relies on close to 600 people to give up their Friday evening and Saturday and help at the event that attracts more than 20,000 believers. Volunteer spots have been filled for Friday, but the need remains for more volunteers for the all-day Saturday event.

The variety of work for people to do ranges from volunteer ushers helping with the collection during Mass and directing people in line for confessions to chaperoning teens and leading a group of up to 10 kids in the activities guided by the Christ Music Kids group. People are needed for the whole day, from around 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Volunteer opportunities remain to help the Vietnamese Catholic community enjoy the event too.

Stubbs said the need is particularly great with children. She said space in the children’s track is limited based on the number of volunteers available to supervise and guide the children based on the Safe Environment policy of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

“If we do not get another 89 volunteers for this track, we will only be able to take a fraction of the kids that we have in the past and that means turning kids away at the door,” she said.

The deadline to apply for the volunteers has been extended to May 22. The volunteer training is done the morning of the event.