'Persistent' shortage of volunteers hitting groups that rely on them

For the past 75 years, the Brockville Concert Association has been putting on musical performances featuring international and local artistsranging from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to Yo-Yo Ma.

But recently, the groupwaslooking into dissolving completely, said association presidentSamia O'Day.

"In our casewe actually are in great financial shape, and one of the reasons that we have been considering wrapping up is because we couldn't find enough volunteers to help us keep going," she told CBC Radio's Ontario Morning.

Sometimes we feel like, oh, I'm just one person. How could I make a difference?- Samia O'Day, Brockville Concert Association

The association is run entirely by volunteers,and needs about eightto 10 board membersand a good number of support volunteers to help with events and concerts. With three longtime board members leaving this year, there areonly three people left to runthe entire organization,which O'Day said isn't sustainable.

"I don't know if we gave up a little bit after COVID or what happened," she said of the struggle for volunteers.

"We asked for some volunteers, we put the word out there and nobody came forward and we thought, I guess this isn't important, or people can't or people are busy," she said.

For O'Day, the thought of having to dissolve the organization is "so sad," especially since she's seen how it's touched the lives of so many in the community.

"Music is so powerful, it transforms lives. I saw the change," she said, referring to a concert last summer by Toronto-based music group Sultans of String that was attended by local students.

"They loved it. They were cheering like they were at a rock concert. They were transformed," she said.

O'Day said when the organization went public about the risk of dissolving, more people started coming forward offering to help out. She said sometimes it might just take an extra push to get people volunteering again.

"Sometimes we feel like, oh, I'm just one person. How could I make a difference?" she added.

Demand for volunteers 'increasing rapidly'

The concert association's situation isn't surprising toChristine Trauttmansdorff, executive director of Volunteer Ottawa.

It's anexample of the volunteer shortage being felt across the region, she said.

When it comes to filling executive volunteer positions such as sitting on a board, the challenge is "persistent," Trauttmansdorff said. Part of that could be because those roles often entail a long-term commitment over two or three years.

But finding volunteers in general has been an issue since the pandemic, Trauttmansdorff added.

"There's certainly a lot of pressure on individuals," she said."People who might have had time for volunteering before,maybe they've got a second job or they're helping out with child care in the family."

Thousands of posts unfilled

At the same time, the demand for services from charities and non-profitsthat rely on volunteers has also risen, Trauttmansdorff said, especially amidsoaring inflation.

Volunteer Ottawa works with more than 300 different charities and groups across the city, sharing volunteering opportunities.

"The number of volunteer positions and postings that they're bringing to us every week is increasing rapidly. I would have to say that supply is not keeping up with demand at the moment," she said.

There are currently well over 800 active postings on Volunteer Ottawa's site, with about 10,000 individualvolunteers needed at any given time. Trauttmansdorff said that far outweighsthe number who are actively seeking volunteer opportunities.

But she remains hopeful more people will start volunteering again soon.

"It's an overwhelming time in the world right now and you hear so many problems and you think, what in the world can I do to solve climate change or to solve homelessness?'"Trauttmansdorffsaid.

"But when you start looking at some of the volunteer opportunities that exist, you can see that there are a whole lot of ways that one person can make a difference. So sometimes it's just a matter of taking that one step."