Imagine. What if you sit down to watch Telemiracle working into its fourth decade and no one is there manning the phones or running the show? Twelve hundred Kinsmen and Kinette volunteers plus 150 production volunteers work tirelessly all weekend to make this event happen. Imagine this annual Saskatchewan telethon without that commitment.
Imagine our community no longer having a trade show, Royal Purple caterers, health care auxiliary, Western Days' events, parades, community activities, Legion services or music festival. What if you went to church and there was no organist or choir, no ladies to prepare and serve lunch after a funeral or celebration? What if there were no children's activity programs like dance, ball, hockey or gymnastics.
These are all things we take for granted; we assume they will keep happening year after year. But what if they don't? What if they can't because there is no one willing to "keep the ball rolling?"
Many organizations and clubs are concerned with declining numbers. Many feel viability is an issue if new members are not found. Do we truly comprehend what could be lost if any one of these groups disappears?
In the past year, nearly every single club or organization in Unity has expressed concern with declining membership and/or aging membership that can no longer meet the demands on them.
Unity records over two dozen service clubs and volunteer organizations. This number doesn't include minor sports organizations nor churches.
In an ActiveHistory.ca, November, 2012 article by Krista McCracken, she states, "Since the 1980s service clubs have been seeing a steady decline in membership and participation. Do service clubs still have a place in today's society? Many people rely on the charities established by service clubs and many small towns still use the Legions as community gathering places. However, many people are seemingly less interested in joining structured service clubs and prefer unstructured volunteerism."
An October, 2012 article in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix states, "The work of dozens of service clubs in Saskatoon raise millions of dollars per year to help individuals, the entire community and people in need around the world. 'These clubs are becoming smaller as their members age and are not replaced by younger generations,' said Elmer Hilgers, a 28-year members of the Riverside Optimist Club."
The article details falling Lions club membership throughout the district and identifies a trend toward different ways of volunteering.
In our community, volunteering is not usually an issue. However, long-term commitment to existing service clubs is. And those clubs and organizations in need of membership are struggling to figure out "the missing middle" and the solution to this growing problem.
"Serving the community's greatest need" is a Kin Club motto. Unity's Kinsmen club was strong in the community in the 1970s and '80s. Partnering with an active Kinette Club, these groups hosted activities and events that resulted in substantial dollars being fed back into the community. This was in addition to their annual commitment, fundraising and volunteer work for Telemiracle. There is no longer a Kinette Club and while the Kinsmen Club hasn't been obliterated, it is significantly reduced.
Kinsmen Gary Hennings and Blane Greenwald, say, "Although our club can still count on 10 members we are in real danger of disbanding if we are not able to recruit new members with new ideas and renewed enthusiasm for what the Kinsmen Club's goals are."
They aren't alone as the Legion, whose members are primarily men and women 70-plus, struggles to maintain and operate the hall, as well as keeping funding in place for its long-term operation.
Legion member Mike Wildeman says, "We used to be over 175 members, we are down to 58 and 50 of these member are over 70 years of age. but more accurately, many of our members are in their 80s and 90s."
If the Legion disbands, he says, the hall will go back to Dominion Command and it will be their decision to sell or move it.
The current Legion members raise the $6,000 to $8,000 needed to operate the hall, not including unexpected expenses like a water heater or new furnace recently installed.
The hall isn't the only part of the Legion that will be absent in the community.
"There would no longer be anyone to organize the annual Remembrance Day services, or look after the schools' literary and poster contests, or the annual bursaries presented each year at graduation," Wildeman says.
Members no longer need to have a relative in the Legion, or was in the military or an RCMP member. Anyone who is a Canadian citizen can join.
The Lions, likely one of the larger clubs in the community, is also looking for ways to attract and retain new members. Over a decade ago, they made the decision to combine with the former Lioness Club. But they too echo the concerns of service clubs province- and Canadian-wide, wondering how communities will be affected if these service clubs can no longer stay viable.
Stan Moncrieff, a Lion for 44 years, says the club stands at 34 members with three new folks just joining. At least 60 per cent or more of their membership are over 60. They will continue to actively recruit to keep the club sustainable.
Says Dave Brown in a Jan. 2011 article in the Ottawa Citizen, "Everything changes and usually for the better, but one change that worries me is the falling membership in service clubs. If society loses the great contributions made by these voluntary organizations, will it be able to absorb the damage?"
