I just have to do this right off the bat and give a big round of applause to the Chamber of Commerce committee behind this past weekend’s Harvest Festival in Outlook. I had heard and read great things about previous events like it that were held in the past, so I didn’t know what to expect. I think that for being the inaugural event for a new generation, it was a big hit and I’m looking forward to it hopefully being a yearly occurrence!
The hard work and dedication by everyone behind the scenes of that endeavour brings me to this week’s topic: volunteerism. When you live in a small town area, it’s critical to the success of any community-minded event. In my ten-plus years of covering the ins and outs of everything going on in Outlook and beyond, I’ve attended many events and I’ve seen the hard work being put in by people who are there to ensure that you as the attending public are able to have a good time and enjoy yourself.
They’re the unsung heroes of most communities; the people who put in the hours so you can kick back and relax. For every drink ticket you buy or food item you gobble down, there are volunteers doing the work behind the scenes such as stocking booze and flipping pancakes so that people can enjoy that certain quality of life we’ve come to know in small towns.
However, the problem that seems to permeate a lot of communities these days is a severe lack of volunteers. Up until quite recently, I’d have to say that Outlook was no exception. I remember writing an article about a year and half ago which actually concerned the Chamber of Commerce itself where they needed more people to take an active involvement with the organization or it was in danger of disbanding. Luckily, we’ve seen in the last while that a number of events such as Santa Claus Day, Canada Day weekend, and the recent Harvest Festival had some younger “new blood” behind the scenes.
This is a big step in the right direction, and I hope there’s a domino effect when it comes to overall volunteerism. The formula of the same events that are routinely planned by the same people has a tendency to become redundant and run the risk of being unsuccessful, whereas newer faces provide newer ideas and perspectives.
In 2015, findings from the most comprehensive study on giving and volunteering revealed that Canadians continued to be generous by volunteering close to 2 billion hours in 2013.
The information also showed that the volunteer landscape had changed in our country.
Youth (15 to 19 years) were more engaged with 66% volunteering an average of 110 hours per year. While some youth engagement (20%) is due to mandatory community service, the belief is that youth want to make a difference – which is great for the future of volunteering. They are highly motivated to be active global citizens and often volunteer to gain experience and build skills.
While the volunteer rate decreases with age, older adults (55 and over) continue to contribute the most (39%) of all hours. The organization known as Volunteer Canada recognized that these numbers were extremely positive, yet they also raised the question of will subsequent generations be volunteering in the same way given the multiple demands on their time?
Notably, Canadians between the ages of 35 to 44 saw a 6% drop in their volunteer rate. This is not a surprise considering that this age group has multiple demands on their time. Many are balancing careers with raising families, and increasingly providing care for elderly parents and other extended family members.
Volunteerism is there, and hopefully it’s on the rise. And hey, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. Remember last week’s column where I spoke of forming a committee concerning the SkyTrail? Well, I got some good feedback on that, and a few of us share a similar mindset on it. So much so that I’ll just put this out there right now: the day AFTER the new swimming pool in Outlook has its grand opening, I’m going to call a meeting to see what interest there may be in forming a “Save the SkyTrail” committee.
Can I count on your attendance?
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
