by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Volunteerism has traditionally been a strong and revered part of American life, and certainly strong in Hamilton County. But, there is a problem. The participants are getting older, and new, younger faces are few.

My definition of volunteerism includes folks who belong to service clubs and community organizations as well as those who volunteer individually at a hospital, volunteer fire department, food pantry, animal shelter, etc.

In a few years, a lot of community and charitable organizations are going to run out of manpower to keep their services viable. It has the appearance of a coming crisis. Can be it averted? Of course it can be, but the current trend is not encouraging.

As I see it, the problem is simple: Too many younger folks are addicted to the TV or computer screen. To their credit, high schools in this county are encouraging kids to get involved in groups and programs benefiting the community. But, after their school days many young adults don’t continue volunteering.

I notice the people working at church programs, the local fish fry, delivering Meals on Wheels or helping at political events. So many of them are well into middle age and beyond. Obviously this is going to create a problem in coming years if younger folks do not involve themselves.

I suspect organizations are going to need to launch recruiting drives to engage new volunteers, and some have done so with notable success.

Habitat for Humanity, the county parks Youth Advisory Council and the Hamilton County Humane Society have involved new people. But, most every community group needs to generate more participation, and certainly there is plenty of talent and potential help in a growing area such as ours.

It’s just going to take some effort to motivate the many who are “sitting out” this time of growing need.