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Hands Up! expo kicks off today. Organizations look for new ways to attract volunteers at two-day expo and conference
Friday October 24th, 2008 by Dwayne Tingley

Volunteering for the sake of helping out non-profit groups is not enough these days.

In fact, the president of Volunteer Canada has seen a change in the way volunteers approach their duties. Many of them treat their volunteer time like a second job, Ruth MacKenzie said yesterday.

"They want to use their skills and be challenged as volunteers," MacKenzie said. "They are looking to be motivated as highly-skilled workers and bring that to organizations they support.

"If our volunteer organizations don't recognize the changes, they could be headed for some difficult times ahead."

MacKenzie, of Ottawa, is in Moncton to attend the first ever Hands Up! Volunteer Expo and conference, scheduled for today and tomorrow at the Coliseum-Agrena Complex.

More than 100 volunteer groups have set up booths to explain their functions and their growing need for volunteer help.

The expo, which is open to the public at no charge, will run today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Codiac Transit is offering free transportation to the Coliseum for the duration of the expo. Organizers expect 6-8,000 people to attend.

MacKenzie, who is in her second year as president of Volunteer Canada and has worked with the national organization for almost a decade, was impressed with the expo.

"A lot of people want to volunteer, but they don't know who to talk to or how they should start," MacKenzie said.

"This gives them a place to talk to a lot of different groups, all in one place, and they can get their questions answered," she said.

"It's great for the organizations and it's great for the community. People will get to see a full range of volunteer opportunities."

MacKenzie said volunteer groups can't use the same methods they've been using for years because people are looking for different approaches.

"One example is, should volunteers be doing strategic planning? Should they be involved in the accounting and other skilled jobs while they hire people to stuff envelopes?

"People still want to volunteer, but they are very specific about what kinds of things they want to volunteer for."

Organizations are always searching for volunteers, but recruiting new helpers is not always easy. Statistics Canada says 11 per cent of Canadians are doing 77 per cent of the volunteer work in the country.

"We also know most of these volunteers are older so what happens when they get older or burn out from all of this volunteer activity?" MacKenzie asked.

"That's why we've got to find newer ways of attracting younger volunteers. Give them duties they feel suited to and they will stay with the program."

It is estimated that volunteers provide two billion hours of service annually in Canada.

"There's no way to place a dollar value on this kind of service," MacKenzie said.

"How do you place a value on holding the hand of a dying child or working with your local community minor sports teams? To put a dollar value on these things, would really devalue the importance of volunteers."

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