A new season is just beginning. It's more of a new year for those of us who are connected to the school system than the changing of the calendar in the middle of winter and already the action has started.
As program planning begins it is evident volunteers are vitally important. There are programs with money to run but difficulty with volunteers. I have been shocked to be involved in organizations with my children requiring huge deposits only returned if everyone does their fair share of the volunteering.
Forced volunteering doesn't feel right to me and I'm sometimes offended people can't be trusted to do their part for the success of a program. I began volunteering in my early teens and it was interesting to be the youngest person at the table. It seemed to me most volunteers were married with children and as I got older I continued to be one of the youngest at the table and the others were the people with grandchildren.
Over the past year I have seen long-term projects fold because the work became too much for the dwindling numbers of people with fading strength and I've been part of projects where heavy physical work was undertaken by people who really should have been supervising from the sidelines.
As this new season of sports, culture, recreation and leadership begins there will be many enthusiastic volunteers who will step forward. So many programs, especially for our young people, rely on volunteers to build their skills and abilities and it takes many, many volunteers.
One of the problems we face is being too busy with our jobs, families and activities. Over the years I've come to realize my time is worth far more than money. I guard it more carefully, but I try to be generous with it.
I've often thought it is so valuable people should get tax refunds for their volunteer time and efforts. It would be one way to recognize just how important all of those hours are to our society.
Last week, while listening to some pre-election reporting, I heard an article mentioning one of the national parties was proposing a tax refund for volunteer firefighters, recognizing how vital their role is in rural Canada. I had to look it up online to make sure I had actually heard it properly.
The policy would cover only one group of volunteers, but I think it would raise the profile of all volunteering and the true value of all of those hours freely given to make a difference in our communities and our children would be seen a little bit clearer.
