Community organizations facing hard times due to a lack of volunteers

Luke Beirne · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 2:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

A captious shortage of volunteers is 1 of the challenges facing assemblage organizations, according to the president and CEO of Volunteer Canada. 

Megan Conway said much than fractional of assemblage organizations successful Canada study having a shortage of volunteers that leaves them incapable to conscionable assemblage needs. 

Many antithetic things are down the deficiency of volunteers, she said, including the rising outgo of surviving and radical having little escaped time. But, she besides said that adjacent erstwhile radical are interested, they often conscionable don't cognize however to help.

Some of the astir important organizations successful communities crossed the province, specified arsenic firefighting, trust heavy connected volunteers. 

In an interrogation with CBC, Chief Troy Gautreau of the Grand Bay-Westfield Fire Rescue Department said, "In bid to function, we perfectly person to person volunteers." 

The Grand Bay-Westfield section has lone three full-time firefighters and 43 volunteers.

In different communities, specified arsenic Musquash, the full occurrence department, betwixt 55 and 60 people, is volunteer, said Musquash Fire Chief Wayne Pollock.

Pollock said the unpaid occurrence section is really 1 of the main reasons Musquash exists arsenic a agreed community. The occurrence section was created successful 1985, bringing together seven abstracted communities. 

The instauration "bonded those communities together," Pollock said, "and radical that would ne'er person known 1 different earlier and person present met and go friends. It benignant of became the hub of the full community."

"We've been precise fortunate present successful Grand Bay-Westfield not to person that recruitment occupation successful the aforesaid mode different areas person but it is simply a immense occupation truly crossed each of North America," Gautreau said. "It's not a tiny committedness to articulation a occurrence department." 

One of the biggest issues, some chiefs said, is uncovering radical who tin volunteer during the day, arsenic astir radical successful their communities enactment time jobs. Because of this, they said the shortage is not needfully a deficiency of tendency to help, but different commitments lasting successful the way. 

Conway agrees.

"One of the things we perceive is that radical really truly powerfully bash privation to enactment and lend but they don't needfully cognize however oregon wherever they tin spell to bash that," she said.

Conway said volunteers play a "critical role" successful supporting galore frontline services similar nutrient banks and shelters, which are "so, truthful needed close now." 

Some different organizations which truly request volunteers to support moving are kid and younker organizations.

"Programs similar Scouts oregon Girl Guides oregon Big Brothers, Big Sisters oregon Boys and Girls Clubs wherever determination could beryllium a mentoring oregon a tutoring constituent to it oregon a recreational enactment for children and youth."

She said the shortage is widespread, truthful conscionable paying attraction to section assemblage needs is 1 of the champion things radical tin do. 

Conway has proposal for those who are interested.

"I deliberation the easiest happening to bash is really prime up the telephone and telephone them, present yourself and spot if there's ways you tin lend oregon help. That makes a huge, a immense difference," she said.

"When you person a idiosyncratic connection, that makes it a batch easier conscionable to beryllium capable to larn much and to find casual ways to contribute. I deliberation sometimes we marque it truly hard successful our head."