One has to wonder what the fate of volunteerism is in a community such as Yorkton.
Recently we have seen media coverage of a couple of volunteers who have devoted sizeable chunks of their free time to organizations they believe in.
Last week, when Paulette Jacques retired as Commanding Officer of the 2834 RCACC 64th Field Battery Royal Canadian Artillery Cadet Corps, a story appeared in this publication, looking back at nearly a quarter of a century with the Corps.
This week we have a picture in this edition of Ron Pasloski receiving the SaskEnergy Volunteer Champion Award marking more than two decades as a volunteer with the Yorkton Junior Terriers hockey club, that time spent on the Board of Directors, doing a variety of jobs to help keep the team going.
Stories like those of Jaques and Pasloski have not been that rare in Saskatchewan over the years since people here have long had a reputation for volunteerism. It is something which people here have always seemed to gravitate toward.
Perhaps it is a case of living in small communities where the only way to keep the hockey arena, curling rinks, ball diamonds and community halls going was for everyone to pitch in with their time and effort without the expectation of payment.
However, the draw of volunteerism seem to be waning these days, and that is worrisome for a lot of organizations which rely on people getting out and doing things for the community.
A case in point is Citizens On Patrol Program in the city. COPP does good work. They drive through our city as extra eyes for the police. They watch for unusual activities which are suspicious. They seek out stolen property, or help look for missing people. It is often a thankless job, but one which is a good thing for the community.
But, finding volunteers to undertake the patrols is becoming harder and harder.
It is a story which almost any service club in Yorkton could share as well. We could fill a newspaper with stories on all the projects groups such as the Kinsmen, Lions, Elks, and others have supported through the years. They are the organizations we turn to when hockey teams need new uniforms, when the hospital needs some equipment not covered by government funding, and a hundred other instances of community need.
They cannot lend support without volunteers to do the fundraising they need to do to raise money though, and the roster of most clubs are far smaller today than a decade, or so ago.
If the situation is one of people being busier today than in the past with careers and families, it would be at least understandable.
However, it seems it might be more a case of people more focused on their own little piece of the world, and in so doing simply are less interested in doing things gratis for the greater good of the community.
It is every bit as important today as ever that we each find a way to contribute to our community, and volunteering is as good a way to do that as there is. A few hours of our time, a bit of sweat at times, our efforts going toward making Yorkton a better place, is important. Hopefully, we never forget that and each of us contribute as we can.
