By Trevor Sinker
Kris MacKenzie is exactly the type of member service clubs want. She’s young and ambitious with plenty of volunteer experience.
But she’s not a member of a service club.
“I would definitely consider joining a service organization provided that I knew somebody that was in it,” says MacKenzie, a Centretown resident who lives on Cooper Steet. For now though, she says she’ll focus on her volunteer work with the Christmas Exchange and the Ottawa District School Board.
But it’s relatively rare for a 22-year-old to express an interest in joining a service organization like the Lioness and Rotary Clubs.
A study of the non-profit and voluntary sector in Canada, released earlier this fall, found young volunteers prefer short-term commitments and are less likely to take on leadership roles.
This should be alarming to service clubs who are built around long-term commitments. Service organizations like those mentioned above have served Canadian communities for decades.The Lions Club, for example, sponsors youth programs and helps the visually impaired. But many of these institutions are struggling.
Like other organizations, the Royal Canadian Legion is losing members. People move to another community, decide to withdraw, or die says Bob Butt, director of communications for the Royal Canadian Legion.
And this affects not only the communities they serve, but also the members who prepare potluck lunches and organize student public speaking competitions.
“It’s an aging pool of volunteers and as that pool ages they may encounter health difficulties – they can’t come out as much, or they want to spend more time with their grandchildren,” says Lisa Hartford, manager of research communications with the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, the sponsor of the study.
Since retirement at 65 is no longer automatic, more seniors are working. This leaves them with less time for volunteering, says Brian Barrett, executive director of Volunteer Ottawa.
This means service clubs must refocus their attention to recruit new young members. When the Ontario government mandated 40 hours of community service as a high school graduation requirement six years ago, youth volunteerism received a boost.
Or did it?
Hartford says it is too soon to gauge the program’s success. It’s a well-intentioned initiative to get young people volunteering. It links youth with organizations who need assistance and provides teenagers with practical work experience.
But there might be an undesirable side effect. By only requiring 40 hours, the program reinforces the assumption among young people that volunteerism is equated with short-term commitment.
Hartford says a few volunteer organizations have even had reservations about the program. “They only want to be there for their 40 hours – they have no intention of coming back,” she explains.
With such a high turnover rate, volunteer organizations are hesitant to pour energy into extensive training. Hartford says this means the 40 hours “tend to lean towards more of the envelope-stuffing type of assignments that may not be as satisfying to a student.”
And less-than-satisfied students are less likely to continue volunteering with the organization.
Service clubs can’t rely on this program to recruit young members. If service clubs want to attract younger members, they should continue helping their communities, but adjust the structure of their volunteer base to accommodate shifting volunteer trends. Some already have.
The Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, whose office is on Sparks Street, sponsors Circle K clubs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, as well as Key Clubs in four Ottawa high schools and two cadet groups.
The Kiwanis Club provides mentorship and offers leadership guidance to youth. In turn they have a pool of young volunteers they can tap into when they need more people to help at events they run.
More than 100 students have taken advantage of another opportunity called the community-service learning program offered at the University of Ottawa.
The program, which started this semester, offers students a chance to apply their skills in a volunteer organization and write a report, in lieu of an assignment, says Jeff Keshen, a history professor and co-chair of the program.
By offering students an opportunity to use their expertise, students are more likely to find the volunteer experience rewarding, and in turn remain with the organization after their commitment officially ends.
The Kiwanis Club and community-service learning programs are writing a new path. Hopefully other service clubs can learn from them to attract new members.
MacKenzie says that volunteering gets her out of her “normal element,” adding that she gets to “see things from a different perspective.”
That’s what quality service volunteering provides – everything from new experiences to the gratifying sense of helping others.
There’s much to contribute, but will service clubs ask for help?