Alberta volunteers changing

Times Contributor

 

According to this year’s Stats Canada figures, the volunteer rate in Alberta is up seven per cent, with over 57 per cent of Albertans somehow involved in volunteer activity. The average hours devoted to volunteerism has dropped to around 100 hours per person, which may be because 57 per cent are employed.

Karen Lynch, Executive Director of Volunteer Alberta said that organizations must address the volunteer sector challenges.

“Albertans have always been generous with their time and that hasn’t changed. However, there are some warning signs for our sector,” said Lynch. “Volunteerism isn’t disappearing, but volunteers are changing. The people who are volunteering today aren’t the same as the people who were volunteering five years ago. They have different reasons for volunteering and they want to be engaged in different ways. It is crucial that non-profit/voluntary organizations adjust to the changing landscape and engage people in the ways that they want to be engaged.”

In an interview on Alberta Primetime, Lynch pointed to a joint study by Volunteer Canada and Manulife, www.volunteer.ca/study , about what volunteers say about the subject. 

The study indicated that volunteers want the experience to match their life stage whether they are young, career-oriented, have families or are baby boomers. For example, while youth want to volunteer with people of their own age, family volunteers prefer group activities that include their children, and boomers are interested in the organizations. 

Agencies need to adapt to life demands and lifestyle schedules. Canadians are more goal-oriented and have more structure in their lives; they are techno-savvy, interested in many things and self-reliant. Agencies also need to learn to give, so they can get. Volunteers didn’t like organizational politics and a feeling that they were not making a real difference.

The report suggests that to engage, volunteer agencies need to design specific roles, be open-minded and communicate what the experience can offer. Be organized, but not too bureaucratic and match skills to the needs of the organization; don’t assume everyone wants to use the same skills that they bring to the table. Provide opportunity to work in groups and have a social experience, or allow volunteers to create a new approach to the activity. With busy schedules, volunteers want shorter term, flexible assignments.