Volunteerism may need rethinking

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/11/2023 (714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“We’re at a tipping point here. In rural areas especially, the same people are being asked to sit on every board and service clubs.”

— Andrea MacDonald, United Way PEI

In an article published by The Philanthropist Journal in March of this year, Toronto writer Yvonne Rodney argued that volunteer participation in Canada is at an all-time low. And he placed much of the blame on the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He based that opinion on statistical facts as well that showed an overall decline in volunteer numbers. For example, Statistics Canada data from one year ago showed that more than 65 per cent of non-profit organizations are experiencing a shortage of volunteers. Data from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions suggested that non-profits are dealing with volunteer shortages and burnout, and are having difficulty recruiting new volunteers.

He also quoted a survey by the Charity Insights Canada Project in which 59 per cent of respondents told them that the pandemic had affected how they engage with volunteers, and that 57 per cent were experiencing difficulty in recruiting new people. And according to the article, a first-quarter report from Imagine Canada predicted that the volunteer shortfall woes will continue well into 2023.

The baby boomer generation, which has done much of the volunteering in the last four decades, was basically forced to step away from their volunteer positions due to the pandemic, and many have not yet returned.

Younger generations, by contrast, are not attracted to the volunteer model based upon socialization that has been followed by earlier generations. Part of the problem, he wrote, was that the pandemic forced many of us to rethink how we spend our time. Even in the workplace, it became clear that people wanted a better quality of life, and flexibility in their various jobs.

And in fact there are clear signs that Mr. Rodney’s column and the Imagine Canada prediction was close to the mark.

Last weekend, we reported that Brandon’s Operation Red Nose program is at risk due to a lack of volunteer drivers.

“We are perilously close to just cancelling it because we don’t have enough volunteer drivers,” representative Frank McGwire told the Sun. “So, if we don’t get numbers up, the service will be discontinued in Brandon. It’s as simple as that.”

The plan was to start the program this past Friday and Saturday, and then run four weekends in December, and New Year’s Eve, with calls accepted between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. on operation nights. But the opening weekend for the program was cancelled because they just couldn’t find enough people to operate.

Brandon is not alone in that predicament. Operation Red Nose in Thunder Bay was cancelled this year as well, citing a lack of volunteers. In fact, the program has not run since 2019, according to a CBC report.

“I think all organizations, no matter what program is happening right now, are finding it difficult to garner volunteers within the community,” said Diana Sustawenko, St. John Ambulance executive director for Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario. “And I think a lot of that does have to do with COVID and all the different viruses that are going around.”

The pandemic certainly had a substantially negative effect on Canada’s volunteer pool, no doubt, but it’s also too easy to chalk up the dearth of volunteers that Canadian communities have experienced over the years to a pandemic hangover.

The reality is that volunteerism has been in decline over the last several decades. The pandemic merely accelerated an already growing problem. Think of how many service clubs and rural fairs have faced similar volunteer shortages on their boards and for events in Brandon and Westman over the years.

Just this past weekend, no one showed up to a meeting at the Green Acres Community Centre for seeking a board position or as a volunteer.

“We have a couple of returning volunteers that are going to try making ice this winter, but it is highly likely to be their last,” read a post on the Green Acres Facebook page.

So what do we do about it?

Part of the problem is that people simply have more demands on their time, so there is a need for service clubs and non-profit organizations to be as flexible as possible when it comes to what they ask of volunteers.

But as Mr. Rodney suggested, perhaps we should also rethink how we sell the idea of volunteering to newer generations of people. After all, people volunteer when they feel they have some kind of stake in the outcome.

To increase community belonging in our neighbourhoods, we need to do a better job of reminding ourselves that we are there to take care of each other as a society. Changing the language to a “community care” mentality may go a long way to enticing new volunteers.

We need to find ways to remind our society that the act of giving back to the community not only helps others, but in the long run stands to benefit us as well.

In today’s cynical social and political climate, that may be a tough sell. But contemplating the alternative would be a far less appealing venture.