***This is part two of a series examining the struggles Kewanee organizations and committees face as volunteerism declines.
The decline of interest in volunteerism has been years in the making and solving the problem won’t happen overnight. But for community leaders of organizations that residents rely on, fixing the decline of volunteerism that plagues not only local organizations but organizations across the nation can’t come soon enough.
Dianne Packee, who volunteers for organizations such as the Windmont lighting crew, the Enchanted Pumpkin Festival and the Walldog Committee, believes that hectic schedules for the community’s younger generation make it difficult for them to step up and fill the leadership roles.
“With many of the organizations not being able to get the volunteers needed to continue on, I think times have changed and kids are involved in traveling sports,” said Packee. “Travel sports require lots of time on the road and expense. Parents spend extra money to have their kids trained in sports that will enhance their ability to hopefully get them a scholarship into a prestigious school.”
Once kids get home from school and practice, Packee said, it’s hard to do all of the things required by a parent and then attend the meetings often required by organizations and clubs.
Packee is one of a handful of Kewanee residents concerned that a new generation isn’t stepping in to fill the shoes of the people who came before them.
“I do worry that someone won’t come along and we will have to quit having our Prairie Chicken Arts Festival because we can’t do it anymore on our own,” she said.
Packee believes that families struggle under the weight of activities. Kids are busier today than they were decades ago and because of that, so are parents.
According to the Stanford Center on Longevity, the most common reason for not volunteering is lack of free time. “About half of Americans cite this as the main reason and another common reason is that the volunteer schedules and commitments are too inflexible.”
That’s been an issue for the Kewanee Food Pantry, said Director Lisa Janey. Finding people able to work during the pantry’s hours of operation hasn’t proved easy, and seniors are more apt to come aboard as volunteers.
Janey said the work is laborious and it’s sometimes too difficult for older volunteers but she’s not sure what the solution will be. One idea she has thought about is to ask the recipients of the food pantry donations to volunteer several hours a month. But she’s not sure how such an idea would work.
Larry Flannery, co-chair of the Hog Days Committee, has witnessed the festival committee shrink in size over the years and would welcome newcomers to the committee, which is now down to about a dozen or so members.
“We have had people come to a meeting or two wanting to give their input on how we can make Hog Days better, not understanding we no longer have enough people to do much of anything other than keep the status quo going,” he said.
Flannery is proud that the small committee, which puts on a four-day festival every Labor Day weekend, operates as a well-oiled machine, but adding activities to the weekend such as a 50-50 raffle or a dog stampede, baseball tournament, square dancing or a pool tournament (just a few of the ideas they have received) just won’t work without more volunteers.
“When we tell them ‘that’s a great idea, please be the organizer of it and we will support you with publicity or in any other way we can,’ they stop their participation,” he said.
Flannery said that the committees’ resistance towards change has made them appear as if they are old “sticks in the mud.” But Flannery said that many of the suggestions made by new prospective volunteers just aren’t feasible for all sorts of reasons, including safety, leading people to believe that the committee won’t try anything new.
Flannery said during his time on the committee, they have received plenty of complaints. Those complaints, such as in 2018, include senior attendees requesting that the flea market be moved closer to the main Hog Days action. But Flannery said after it was moved to the green space on Third Street across from City Hall, people complained that the space was too bumpy and not shaded by trees and too close to all of the noise of the main Hog Day action.
“Do you get a feel of why it’s difficult to recruit people who aren’t paid a penny for their time that want to deal with that?” Said Flannery.
Nichelle Morey, co-chair of Relay For Life, along with Amy Sternes, also feels that the younger generation are simply too busy to volunteer.
“The people who have young children involved in sports and other activities are so busy,” she said, speaking from experience. Morey has a young daughter who plays sports and is involved in other activities. Morey is not only a Kewanee Park District commissioner but sits on the board of directors for The Kewanee Voice.
“The world is a different place than it was 20 years ago,” Morey said, pointing to the rise of technology and the number of hours younger people devote to their electronic devices.
“I do know that if some of these people would look up their screen time on their phones and video games and just give us half of that time, we wouldn’t be begging for volunteers,” she said.
According to the Stanford Center, retirees don’t actually volunteer at higher rates than employees, people ages 35-44, or those who are more likely to have young children at home and be employees. Those people actually volunteer at a slightly higher rate.
The Stanford Center suggests the problem could be voluntary inertia, or the habit people create by volunteering or not volunteering. Understanding that could be the key to unlocking future volunteers.
Research shows that 75 percent of people who volunteer before retirement go on to volunteer in retirement. In contrast, the Stanford Center cites, only about a third of retirees who did not volunteer while working begin to volunteer in retirement. This suggests that the “sweet spot” for volunteer recruitment is the years before retirement.
In both of Kewanee’s school districts, the introduction to volunteering begins early. The Kewanee Kiwanis Club sponsors elementary, high school and college clubs dedicated to promoting service to the community. Students as young as fourth grade can start to understand the importance of volunteering and doing good in their community.
Jennifer Vickrey is a K-Kids advisor at Central School. K-Kids is the elementary version of the Kiwanis Club and is offered to students from fourth to sixth grades. This year, the group has 85 members and has already put in a total of over 278 service hours volunteering for projects such as recycling collection, Tag Days, filling the Good Fellows Christmas Baskets and creating holiday cards for nursing homes. The Kiwanis clubs, which also include the Builders Club at the junior high level, the Key Club at the high school level and the Circle K Club at the college level, are designed to introduce young people to the service of their community.
“Everything we do is to give back,” said Vickrey. “It’s a great introduction to volunteering and giving back starting at the fourth grade.”
Fostering volunteerism in a younger generation could make it easier to obtain volunteers in the future. But for the organizations in need now, the struggle continues and many worry about the decade ahead and the future fate of their organizations and events.
Morey said that after trying everything she could think of to attract volunteers for Relay For Life, she’s out of ideas. At some point, she knows that like many other area Relay For Life events, the Kewanee fundraiser could cease to exist.
Packee also worries about the future of the Prairie Chicken Arts Festival that she helped create and said if no one steps in to take it over, it will one day be gone.
“And I hope after it ends, if that happens, I won’t hear ‘gee I wish you could bring it back again!’ We need people to keep things going now before they get to that point. You can always use more friends,” said Packee.
