Events don't happen without volunteers

During the recently completed Cheney Mayfest celebration, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament was in jeopardy, lacking volunteers for important positions such as scorekeepers and courtside monitors.

But then players and parents from the Cheney High School Lady Blackhawks basketball team stepped up to volunteer, asking, “What can we do to help?” With their assistance, the event took place, providing fun and competition for players and spectators alike.

For those aware of this, it’s an important reminder of what volunteering means to communities. Events such as Mayfest, Cheney Rodeo, Founder’s Day in Medical Lake and Airway Heights’ celebration in August, along with events planned or operated by other groups and organizations, don’t happen without volunteers.

And yet, volunteerism in this country still remains low. According to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, volunteering in the U.S. in 2015 fell 0.4 percent to 24.9 percent of individuals overall, continuing a declining trend since 2003 when 28.8 percent of people in this country said they volunteered for at least one organization.

The BLS figures indicate a number of trends. People with a bachelor’s degree or higher volunteer more than those without, individuals with good paying jobs volunteer more than those who struggle, women donate more time than men and people ages 35 – 54 volunteer more than those in other age groups.

There are many positive benefits from volunteering.

“Volunteering is a core American value,” the Corporation for National and Community Service’s spokeswoman Samantha Jo Warfield said in a 2014 piece for The Non-Profit Times. “Volunteers provide enormous social and economic value to our communities and country. By giving back, volunteers gain new skills, expand professional networks, stay connected to their community and experience physical and mental health benefits.”

Volunteers also benefit their communities by providing the force that enables others to enjoy a Saturday afternoon of fun, food and music such as Mayfest. It’s what puts baseball and softball teams together for boys and girls ages 5 – 12 such as what’s done with West Plains Little League.

There are many, many more organizations that can be named in this area who need volunteers in order to not only do what they do, but continue to survive. As Warfield said, those who do volunteer end up feeling good about themselves and what they have done, even if it’s just playing a small role.

More volunteers are needed in our communities, as the statistics above indicate. Those statistics, when translated into hours donated and the number of volunteers also indicate that more volunteer work is being done by fewer people.

It’s hard to keep organizations and events going under these circumstances because this produces burnout in those doing the work. That’s one reason more volunteers are needed, even if it’s just an hour or two a week, or here and there as needed.

You don’t need to run the show as a volunteer because chances are, there are others there who are prepared to do it and want to.

Volunteering is a community ethic that needs to be established young and kept going. According to BLS, just 21 percent of people age 16 – 24 volunteer.

And yet, what’s not reflected among those statistics is the number of people who benefit from volunteers hard work. Sometimes, these people are quick to criticize how events organized by volunteers are run.

Our question is, if you don’t volunteer, what gives you the right to complain?

Kudos to the CHS girls basketball team for their efforts at Mayfest, as well as other business leaders and individuals who stepped up to provide a fun-filled Friday and Saturday in May. We appreciate your efforts, as well as the efforts of all the other volunteers in our community.

These people have realized that time is precious, but also that time spent giving back to their community is the most precious time of all.