IT'S TIME TO CONSIDER HOW TO FIX VOLUNTEERISM PROBLEM
OSOYOOS TIMES-April 23, 2008
National Volunteer Week begins on April 27 and no time could be better to focus on the volunteerism situation in Osoyoos than right now.
Much of what makes this community great can be attributed to those who give up a great deal of their free time to organize an event, run a fundraiser or answer the call of someone in need.
But it's clear from the general meetings Osoyoos Times reporters attend and the stories members of the community tell us that the number of people lending a helping hand in town is on the decline.
Nearly every charity and non-profit organization in town has made a request in one way or another for more volunteers at some point this year. Some are on the verge of collapsing because their volunteer numbers are so thin.
A solution to such a problem is not easy to find.
Could the town, the business community and the schools do more to encourage volunteerism?
Is there a way to effectively co-ordinate volunteer recruiting efforts?
Perhaps the Town of Osoyoos could step up and create a more centralized system that would take account of the organizations needing assistance and match them up with people who offer their services.
Maybe business leaders and teachers could promote the spirit of volunteerism more among their staff and students.
Or the volunteer-driven organizations could find ways to make themselves look more attractive to residents who are on the fence about whether to stay in and decompose in front of the television or go out and make a difference.
It's difficult to say if any of those ideas would work.
One thing is for certain, however.
It would be a shame if Osoyoos's volunteer community dried up to a point where various organizations began to disappear.
At times, it seems the charities and the non-profits are the only groups standing between us and a town where all that matters is development and making money and exploiting all that is around us.
