The benefits of volunteering are many

Is it just me, or are there fewer volunteers signing up to help out in the community these days?  

Ten or 15 years ago, it seemed there were many more people willing to step up and help out at the community centre. Perhaps this is because it was during a big phase of subdivision development, with lots of young families looking to make new friends and put down roots.

There are still lots of parents volunteering to help coach their kids in organized sports but community centre boards of directors seem to be getting smaller and the workload doesn’t change. A lack of time and a reluctance to make any long-term commitment are typically the main reasons people don’t volunteer.  

Maybe it's another symptom of the technological development that allows us to cram even more into each day, with even less time available to volunteer.

Maybe there's a lack of awareness of all the intangible benefits that volunteering brings. I initially joined when our family first moved to the community, to get to know my neighbours and to help make it a better place for my kids.

However, I found the experience to be thoroughly rewarding on several other levels. I was able to take ownership of a project that was important to a large number of people, and seeing it through to success brought a massive personal feeling of achievement.

What I hadn’t expected was the experience, skill sets and self-confidence I gained that ended up being really beneficial to my career.  

A volunteer organization is an environment in which people aren’t paid to be there and the effort to gain consensus and motivate a group to move in a common direction to achieve goals really helps develop negotiating and organizational skills.  

It's important for any board to accept that it will always be difficult to get volunteer help, and only a very small portion of the community will respond to ads and posters.

Generating self-motivation is the best approach — giving families a fun experience that they want to help recreate. It's also important not to forget the social aspects of the board. While it’s efficient to run an organization like a business, it shouldn't feel like a job. Successes should be celebrated and stars should get recognition.

As I look back today, despite all of the big projects I’ve worked on in my professional life, some of those community projects and events still stand out as highlights that I’ll always remember fondly.  

I hope that reading this has made you consider the benefits of volunteering — not only will your community benefit, you will too!

Nick Barnes is a community correspondent for Whyte Ridge.