diff --git a/docker-compose.dev.yaml b/docker-compose.dev.yaml
index a40aee1718..12907723b7 100644
--- a/docker-compose.dev.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.dev.yaml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ services:
       - "80:80"
       - "443:443"
     volumes:
-      - $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
+      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
       - $PWD/site:/srv
       - caddy_data:/data
       - caddy_config:/config
diff --git a/sample_data/venue.json b/sample_data/venue.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a2b44acb88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sample_data/venue.json
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+[
+  {
+    "_id": "6437904485008f171cf29925",
+    "name": "Unity Foundation",
+    "description": "A large hall for community events in the Bronx.",
+    "capacity": 500,
+    "imageUrl": "https://example.com/bronx-hall.jpg",
+    "organization": "6437904485008f171cf29924"
+  },
+  {
+    "_id": "6537904485008f171cf29925",
+    "name": "Unity Conference Room - Queens",
+    "description": "A small conference room for meetings in Queens.",
+    "capacity": 50,
+    "imageUrl": "https://example.com/queens-conference-room.jpg",
+    "organization": "6537904485008f171cf29924"
+  },
+  {
+    "_id": "6637904485008f171cf29925",
+    "name": "Unity Arena - Staten Island",
+    "description": "A large outdoor arena for public events in Staten Island.",
+    "capacity": 2000,
+    "imageUrl": "https://example.com/staten-island-arena.jpg",
+    "organization": "6637904485008f171cf29924"
+  },
+  {
+    "_id": "6737904485008f171cf29925",
+    "name": "Unity Hall - Brooklyn",
+    "description": "A community hall in Brooklyn for social events.",
+    "capacity": 300,
+    "imageUrl": "https://example.com/brooklyn-hall.jpg",
+    "organization": "6737904485008f171cf29924"
+  }
+]
diff --git a/setup.ts b/setup.ts
index c5e5a9cc56..b8ad43ecc3 100644
--- a/setup.ts
+++ b/setup.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import fs from "fs";
 import inquirer from "inquirer";
 import path from "path";
 import type { ExecException } from "child_process";
-import { exec } from "child_process";
+import { exec, spawn } from "child_process";
 import { MongoClient } from "mongodb";
 import { MAXIMUM_IMAGE_SIZE_LIMIT_KB } from "./src/constants";
 import {
@@ -462,6 +462,63 @@ export async function mongoDB(): Promise<void> {
   }
 }
 
+/*
+  For Docker setup
+*/
+
+async function runDockerComposeWithLogs(): Promise<void> {
+  // Check if Docker daemon is running
+  try {
+    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      const dockerCheck = spawn(
+        process.platform === "win32" ? "docker.exe" : "docker",
+        ["info"],
+        { stdio: "ignore" },
+      );
+      dockerCheck.on("error", reject);
+      dockerCheck.on("close", (code) =>
+        code === 0
+          ? resolve(null)
+          : reject(new Error("Docker daemon not running")),
+      );
+    });
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    throw new Error(
+      `Docker daemon is not running. Please start Docker and try again. Details: ${errorMessage}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      dockerCompose.kill();
+      reject(new Error("Docker compose operation timed out after 5 minutes"));
+    }, 300000);
+
+    const dockerCompose = spawn(
+      process.platform === "win32" ? "docker-compose.exe" : "docker-compose",
+      ["-f", "docker-compose.dev.yaml", "up", "--build", "-d"],
+      { stdio: "inherit" },
+    );
+
+    dockerCompose.on("error", (error) => {
+      clearTimeout(timeout);
+      console.error("Error running docker-compose:", error);
+      reject(error);
+    });
+
+    dockerCompose.on("close", (code) => {
+      clearTimeout(timeout);
+      if (code === 0) {
+        console.log("Docker Compose completed successfully.");
+        resolve();
+      } else {
+        reject(new Error(`Docker Compose exited with code ${code}`));
+      }
+    });
+  });
+}
+
 //Get recaptcha details
 /**
  * The function `recaptcha` prompts the user to enter a reCAPTCHA secret key, validates the input, and
@@ -917,7 +974,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     type: "confirm",
     name: "isDockerInstallation",
     message: "Are you setting up this project using Docker?",
-    default: false,
+    default: process.env.MONGO ? false : true,
   });
 
   if (isDockerInstallation) {
@@ -1181,6 +1238,64 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   console.log(
     "\nCongratulations! Talawa API has been successfully setup! 🥂🎉",
   );
+
+  const { shouldStartDockerContainers } = await inquirer.prompt({
+    type: "confirm",
+    name: "shouldStartDockerContainers",
+    message: "Do you want to start the Docker containers now?",
+    default: true,
+  });
+
+  const { shouldImportSampleData } = await inquirer.prompt({
+    type: "confirm",
+    name: "shouldImportSampleData",
+    message:
+      "Do you want to import Talawa sample data for testing and evaluation purposes?",
+    default: true,
+  });
+
+  if (isDockerInstallation) {
+    if (shouldStartDockerContainers) {
+      console.log("Starting docker container...");
+      try {
+        await runDockerComposeWithLogs();
+        console.log("Docker containers have been built successfully!");
+        // Wait for mongoDB to be ready
+        console.log("Waiting for mongoDB to be ready...");
+        let isConnected = false;
+        const maxRetries = 30; // 30 seconds timeout
+        let retryCount = 0;
+        while (!isConnected) {
+          if (retryCount >= maxRetries) {
+            throw new Error(
+              "Timed out waiting for MongoDB to be ready after 30 seconds",
+            );
+          }
+          try {
+            const client = new MongoClient(process.env.MONGO_DB_URL as string);
+            await client.connect();
+            await client.db().command({ ping: 1 });
+            client.close();
+            isConnected = true;
+            console.log("MongoDB is ready!");
+          } catch (err) {
+            const error = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+            console.log(
+              `Waiting for MongoDB to be ready... Retry ${retryCount + 1}/${maxRetries}. Details: ${error}`,
+            );
+            await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
+            retryCount++;
+          }
+        }
+
+        if (shouldImportSampleData) {
+          await importData();
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.log("Some error occurred: " + err);
+      }
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 main();
diff --git a/src/models/SampleData.ts b/src/models/SampleData.ts
index 8f09cc609d..ea8c91a3e1 100644
--- a/src/models/SampleData.ts
+++ b/src/models/SampleData.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export interface InterfaceSampleData extends Document {
     | "Organization"
     | "Post"
     | "Event"
+    | "Venue"
     | "User"
     | "Plugin"
     | "AppUserProfile";
@@ -28,7 +29,15 @@ const sampleDataSchema = new Schema<InterfaceSampleData>({
   collectionName: {
     type: String,
     required: true,
-    enum: ["Organization", "Post", "Event", "User", "AppUserProfile", "Plugin"],
+    enum: [
+      "Organization",
+      "Post",
+      "Event",
+      "Venue",
+      "User",
+      "AppUserProfile",
+      "Plugin",
+    ],
   },
 });
 
diff --git a/src/utilities/loadSampleData.ts b/src/utilities/loadSampleData.ts
index 7ff7e666da..d257cde79a 100644
--- a/src/utilities/loadSampleData.ts
+++ b/src/utilities/loadSampleData.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   Organization,
   Post,
   User,
+  Venue,
 } from "../models";
 import { RecurrenceRule } from "../models/RecurrenceRule";
 
@@ -128,6 +129,9 @@ async function insertCollections(collections: string[]): Promise<void> {
         case "events":
           await Event.insertMany(docs);
           break;
+        case "venue":
+          await Venue.insertMany(docs);
+          break;
         case "recurrenceRules":
           await RecurrenceRule.insertMany(docs);
           break;
@@ -172,6 +176,7 @@ async function checkCountAfterImport(): Promise<void> {
       { name: "events", model: Event },
       { name: "recurrenceRules", model: RecurrenceRule },
       { name: "posts", model: Post },
+      { name: "venue", model: Venue },
       { name: "appUserProfiles", model: AppUserProfile },
     ];
 
@@ -201,6 +206,7 @@ const collections = [
   "organizations",
   "posts",
   "events",
+  "venue",
   "recurrenceRules",
   "appUserProfiles",
   "actionItemCategories",
diff --git a/src/utilities/removeSampleOrganizationUtil.ts b/src/utilities/removeSampleOrganizationUtil.ts
index 089e97368a..032717557c 100644
--- a/src/utilities/removeSampleOrganizationUtil.ts
+++ b/src/utilities/removeSampleOrganizationUtil.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   Organization,
   Plugin,
   Post,
+  Venue,
   SampleData,
   User,
 } from "../models";
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ export async function removeSampleOrganization(): Promise<void> {
       Post,
       Event,
       User,
+      Venue,
       Plugin,
       AppUserProfile,
     };
diff --git a/tests/resolvers/Query/getVolunteerRanks.spec.ts b/tests/resolvers/Query/getVolunteerRanks.spec.ts
index cb569ea488..0f5d6973d5 100644
--- a/tests/resolvers/Query/getVolunteerRanks.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/resolvers/Query/getVolunteerRanks.spec.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ describe("resolvers -> Query -> getVolunteerRanks", () => {
       },
       {},
     )) as unknown as VolunteerRank[];
-    expect(volunteerRanks[0].hoursVolunteered).toEqual(0);
+    expect(volunteerRanks[0].hoursVolunteered).toEqual(2);
     expect(volunteerRanks[0].user._id).toEqual(testUser1?._id);
     expect(volunteerRanks[0].rank).toEqual(1);
   });