ATHABASCA — As the end of April approaches, organizations, clubs and non-profits across the province are celebrating the Albertans who donate their time, effort and energy to bring events and initiatives to life for Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 20-26
And while volunteer-run specials like cornhole leagues, rodeos, charity golf tournaments and celebratory barbecues have made rural Albertan communities like Athabasca a colourful place to be for generations, fewer and fewer organizations across the province are having more and more trouble finding volunteers.
A 2024 study by the University of Alberta’s Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) and Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) flagged the declining rates of volunteerism in rural communities as a major problem for hamlets, towns, counties, and all residents who rely on and benefit from the services and amenities volunteer organizations provide.
“it is not an exaggeration to suggest that volunteers are the backbone of rural communities,” reads the report. “Volunteers play critical roles within rural FCSS offices, local firefighting and victims services, recreation and cultural organizations, co-operatives, libraries, school councils, churches, municipal committees and more.”
“The volunteer crisis is very much here, in rural Alberta, and many volunteer organizations are subsequently experiencing declining capacity. This volunteer shortage, in conjunction with the broader challengers of increasing costs, paperwork, liability concerns, and an increasing need to seek external grants, has placed a wide array of rural volunteer organizations in an extremely vulnerable position.”
The Boyle Healthcare Centre Auxiliary is one local example of a volunteer group that gets a lot of applause for the work its volunteers do, but recently was on the brink of folding due to lack of new membership.
“We really didn’t want to go that avenue, but then we were without a vice president and also a treasurer,” said Claudette Dornan, communications spokeswoman for the Auxiliary.
The club, which has donated over $600,000 in equipment, funds and upgrades to the hospital since forming in April 2001, filled the three necessary board positions to keep afloat during their Tuesday April 15 meeting, after two weeks of outreach and advocacy by the municipality, local councillors, and members themselves.
Despite advertising volunteer and involvement opportunities at their annual Mother’s Day Strawberry Tea and Christmas-time Tree of Hope events, Dornan said the last addition to the now-13-member team came two years ago and due to other commitments, couldn’t stick around.
“You see on Facebook a lot of times a lot of likes or a comment, ‘You’re doing great work,’ and everything, but they’re not stepping up,” said Dornan.
She said despite explaining the minor time commitment for nine monthly meetings in a year and fundraising efforts like the Strawberry Tea and charitable casinos, she and other members have received little in the way of interest from other locals.
“It’s not a lot of time, but I think a lot of the groups are having the same problem.”
Dornan’s explanations of the Auxiliary’s trouble recruiting new members echoed much of the feedback collected by the U of A and RMA study. The report notes volunteers and organizations across the province are all highlighting similar issues with almost identical language.
“I’m not sure what it is, but people are dropping off. And it seems like it’s always the same ten people who are doing things, getting involved. And yeah, it’s kind of stressful, to be honest,” said one long-time rural volunteer and study participant.
Dornan, also a volunteer with the Boyle Seniors Centre and formerly active with the Brian Mudryk golf tournament, said the core group trend is alive and well in Boyle.
Dornan’s perspective also echoed the widely-held concerns about volunteer burnout, as well as a lack of young locals stepping up to fill positions left by their senior counterparts, who are moving away or taking on less.
“People come and say, ‘Oh you guys are doing a good job,’ and everything, but are they stepping up? No. I don’t know why, if they’re afraid, they have too much work to do, or what, because it’s an easy job to do.”
The U of A and RMA study points to the emergence of the dual-income household, more travel and time commitments for kids extra-curricular activities, and a societal shift in the West away from community and towards individualism as compounding factors influencing a decline in volunteerism felt around the globe as far back as the 1980’s and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But for Dornan and the rest of the Healthcare Auxiliary group, who gathered in the Boyle Healthcare Centre after their April 15 meeting to donate another $14,500 of equipment to the hospital, it’s still about service over self.
“I want to give back to the community, I want to give back to the hospital. We use the hospital, we use the doctors,” said Dornan. “We use the clinic here, and the hospital for the lab, x-rays, emergencies. So it’s my way of giving back.”
Although the Auxiliary has filled the necessary board positions to remain operational this year, Dornan said the group is always recruiting, and wants to break a common misconception about the club: men too are welcome and needed.
“It’s not just a women’s group, but I think people probably think it is.”
