Voluntary work can open doors

Many sporting, leisure and culture events are only possible thanks to voluntary work. But the ranks of volunteer workers are getting larger and thinner and thinner. Why is that?
 
The title of the latest issue of the "Benevol-News" states that "Nobody is too small to do voluntary work!" The centre for voluntary work could well complete the sentence with "... but too few people get involved."
 
An example of an association that has been looking for active members for some time is Insieme Cerebral Zug: they need a vice-president and other committee members, in particular a treasurer. Insieme Cerebral Zug supports people with a disability and their families. The association organizes leisure activities, parents’ meetings, the Zug Education Club, paralympics sport activities and holidays for people with a disability.
 
Insieme director Barbara Camenzind tells of the difficulty in getting people to join the committee: "We have been, and are always on the lookout for new committee members, but it’s clear that most people in the affected group have little time to spare for a voluntary post”. The social change in general has robbed people of the necessary free time. "If both spouses are working and have children, here’s hardly time for a hobby, let alone a voluntary, unpaid job."
 
She continues: "The work in the committees simply has to be distributed more evenly. We need more volunteers with fewer obligations," Barbara Camenzind also finds something else to be important, speaking from her own experience:" For women in the baby break, a voluntary position could open the door to a paying job later on. I worked on a committee for six years, and this has led to a permanent job in another area."
 
The Claro World Shop in Baar is also looking for two committee members. In the job listing for voluntary posts published by Benevol Zug, the association writes: "Do you enjoy being organized and appreciate flexible working hours with about four to six meetings per year?" Potential tasks: organizing events, project assistance, support services. The longer they search, the more difficult it becomes to inspire volunteers to take on responsible tasks, says Regula Landtwing from the Claro World Shop. "It’s not easy to get someone to join the committee, as the job is time consuming. You sometimes get lucky and can appoint someone from the circle of acquaintances”. She believes that the crux of the problem is the fact that "young women now have jobs and earn money – and the cost of living is high in our region."
 
The Robi Baar adventure playground also needs volunteers. Whereby president Anatina Schoop generally finds it easier to find someone for sporadic and spontaneous assistance rather than for longer-term committee work: "If I’m looking for someone today to help me out tomorrow, for example for short-term help in the playground, I mostly find someone. But it’s hard to find volunteers for mandatory or responsible tasks, such as committee work or regular studio work."
 
What’s the reason for this? Anatina Schoop has the same view as Barbara Camenzind and Regula Landtwing: "The everyday stress of many families or the demands of a job stop people from committing themselves to voluntary work." The President of Robi Baar also points out that "there’s a great demand for services for children. Our paid and supervised workshops are fully booked within a short time."
 
A focal point for the filling of voluntary posts in the canton is Benevol Zug, the centre for voluntary work. Through its job listings, it helps to find organizations and volunteers, and provides individual advice to people willing to take on an honorary position. "Most of them have a concrete idea of what they want to do and what not," says Eliane Birchmeier (picture). A wide variety of people come along. Mostly those who are anyway very busy: men and women between 40 and 55 years of age. Eliane Birchmeier also points out: "Volunteering as a qualification on your CV is becoming increasingly important – this has long been the case in Anglo-Saxon countries."