Local Community Groups Experiencing Shortage of Volunteers

A downward trend in the number of active volunteers has community groups scrambling to keep their operations going, according to leaders of those groups.

Organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, the Civic Association of the Setaukets and Stony Brook and at least one school PTA group have said a tough economy has families working extra hard, leaving people with less time and energy to devote to community service.

Eliel Pimentel, president of Three Village Kiwanis, said the club is looking for "people who want to get their hands dirty."

"It's so important for a community for people to be involved," he said. "There’s a difference between writing a check and going to the soup kitchen to serve the food ... You need hands on deck. You need people present."

Kiwanis has about 20 members; Pimentel is hoping to recruit five to ten new members by the fall. The group had to cancel its annual golf outing earlier this year due to lack of manpower; Pimentel was worried those members would "burn out" by the time the club's yearly Duck Race in September rolled around.

The Rotary Club is in a similar situation. President James Deana, a Setauket resident for close to 25 years, said the club has 17 active members. At one point, he said, the group had around 60 active members.

"We’re working diligently to try and build it back up, but it does impact what we try to do," he said. "The value that the community gets out of it can’t be measured in dollars and cents."

Meanwhile, the carries a membership of about 650 – but new president Ron DiBiase has found that the executive board and a group of 25 to 50 residents are the ones actively participating.

But DiBiase and his colleagues have a strategy to try and attract new active members: "We're putting together a committee to try and do a few things with Facebook, and entice younger people to join the organization."

And the leaders of least one local PTA group say they wish it had more active volunteers, but have noticed that parents tend to get involved by showing up to various events to help rather than signing up ahead of time.

"We also recognize that times are hard right now and more parents seem to be working – it is difficult to volunteer when you have to be at work," said Maryann Harkins, who along with Jennifer Kitevski is co-president of the PTA. "Generally speaking we are happy with the parents that do come out and support the school, and we try to be understanding of the parents who can not."

But volunteering doesn't just help the community. Research has shown it also helps the volunteers themselves, according to Dr. Stephen Post, author of and director of Stony Brook University's Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics.

In a 2009 study done by volunteermatch.org and United Healthcare, 89 percent of those who have volunteered somewhere felt the experience enriched their lives; 73 percent said volunteering lowered their levels of stress; and 68 percent said it made them feel physically healthier.

"Do something that you feel is really calling you," Post said. "Help where you feel a calling."

To join the Rotary, a new member must be invited by a previous member, and attend three meetings before becoming an official member. The group meets at 12:15 on Thursdays at Mario's in East Setauket.

The Kiwanis Club usually meets on Tuesdays at 6:30 at Mario's but is on a temporary hiatus. The group has just launched a to help kids in need this coming fall.

To join the Civic Association, you can attend a meeting – usually the first Monday of the month at the library, with the next meeting taking place in September – or visit its website to download a copy of its membership form.

Other local organizations seeking members include both volunteer fire departments, the Setauket Fire Department and the Stony Brook Fire Department, and .

Does your organization need volunteers? You can post a "volunteers needed" announcement by visiting our Announcements page.