Ongoing volunteer shortage stunts events

Organizer Thomas Argue isn’t disheartened by the low turnout at last week’s Action Against Hunger walkathon.

“I’d do it again in a minute,” he said. With the help of just eight participants he raised $1,000, which includes a contribution from his supervisor at Pyramid Lake Resort of the $25-dollar sign-up fee on behalf of each of Argue’s coworkers. As well, some walkers were sponsored by others and brought in larger-than-expected sums.

A representative from Action Against Hunger told Argue the key to the walk would be the people willing to pitch in and help out. “I really think the event would have been better if there had been more volunteers,” Argue said.

And he’s not the only one having a hard time finding help. 

As Jasperites don their cowboy boots and hats, the rodeo committee will be looking for volunteers right up until the festivities begin. It’s the same problem year after year, said committee vice president Stephen Pavlov. “It’s hard to get people to give up their time,” he said.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but if you don’t have volunteers it doesn’t happen,” Pavlov said. “We even assigned one individual on the committee one year to try and recruit, but we are always looking.” 

Pavlov’s wife Pattie, who runs the Miss Rodeo Jasper program, said the lack of help is surprising. She needs volunteers for the kids’ corral event on Aug. 16.

“I find it really odd because Jasper is such a volunteer community, but obviously we’re not the only ones experiencing that,” she said. “I know a lot of people are working two and three jobs so people are just plain tired, and it’s always the same individuals who volunteer.”

Young adult outreach worker Ryan Verge agreed. “It’s so tough,” he said. “We just had our community dinner and we always have people willing to step up, but unfortunately it’s usually the same select few.”

When Community Outreach Services partners with HIV West Yellowhead to conduct orientation sessions for new employees, one of the first things they talk about is volunteer opportunities. “We try to get them right away, talking to them within their first couple days in the community,” Verge said. “That’s been pretty successful.”

He also said the Action Against Hunger walk is something he’d like to see happen again in the years to come. “Maybe we could collaborate with some more organizations to make it a continual thing,” he said. “Because I thought it was pretty neat that he went and took that on on his own.”

For Argue, at times it felt the deck was stacked against him. “I’m new, I don’t have a vehicle, I don’t know enough people to ask for help – it’s quite a challenge when you move to a new town,” he said, adding he won’t give up. “You can count on me doing this stuff.” He also found most people were too busy or forgot about the event.

But a small impact is still an impact. “Have you ever heard the story of the starfish?” Argue said, adding the story is about a man who walks along the shore tossing starfish into the ocean. A passer-by chides him and says it’s impossible to get them all back in the water and the man responds, “I made a difference to that one.” 

“I would have loved to have seen $10,000, but at the same time we raised $1,000,” Argue said. “That means 10 villages get access to clean water. When you think of it in the long term and what we’ve done for those villages... that’s why I’m still happy with the result.”

Now Argue has got his eyes planted on the horizon. Following an upcoming working trip to Australia, his next big plan is to bicycle across Canada to raise money for Action Against Hunger. 

He said there’s nothing more important than helping others. “I strongly believe it’s up to those who can to help those who cannot,” he said. “There are things we could do but we’re not doing, if we used our heads we could really start making a difference.”