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Clinton News-Record, 1984-04-11, Page 22P 1 fir++ • Second Section Wednesday April 11, 19$4 .11014 Volunteers are honored forinvaluable service During the week of April 18 to 25, volunteers from all of North America will be honored for their love, time and invaluable help. Voluntary activities account for an estimated 3.3 per cent of Canada's gross na- tional product. One in every seven adult Canadians is engaged' in some sort of volunteer activity. Organized volunteer work in Canada amounts to some 374 million man-hours a year. But the econorpuc statistics are the least of it: Though great 'numbers --.of- -Canadian volunteers are active in the fields of sports, the arts, consumerism and civil rights, 31.5 per cent of them work in the social welfare and health fields. Another 25 percent donate their time to religious groups, which are also partially involved in health, welfare and education. In other words these people are directly concerned with helping others and they are therefore helping society. When volunteers are asked the reasons why they volunteer, they usually cite the satisfaction they derive from helping others. The Report of the National Advisory Council on Volunteer. Action to the Govern- ment of Canada in 1977 noted a, "new and healthy realization that the volunteer himself does and should benefit from volun- tary activity." It said, "Today; many 'volunteers tend to place less emphasis on charitable motivation and frankly admit that their involvement in voluntary activity arises from their need for self-expression,- self-development elf-e pression, - self -development and self-protection. Given that large numbers of Canadians are heavi- ly engaged in voluntary activity, many are seeking to fulfill their personal needs." The final results of the report confirm that people enjoy doing something for nothing., Further, the idea of giving something back to the community of your own free will seems to be undergoing a revival among the younger people in society. Community af. fairs offices in Canadian high schools have been mobilizing students to help the disabl- ed, entertain children, drive people to and from hospitals, tutor slow learners, babysit for working mothers and more. A prime ex- ample of such a group are the Clinton Col umbian Squires. Groups ' like 4-H Candy Stripers, the Guide and Scout movement and Big Brothers also continue to do good work. Older people, too, are volunteering more and more to make good use of the free time they have#i retirement. In some cases their - former employees are co-ordinating and sponsoring their work. While there will always be a need for peo- ple to do basic chores like mailing out fund- raising literature or pushing carts around hospitals, there is a growing.trend towards more challenging forms of service. Among the other fairly new developments in volun- tary service are round-the-clock telephone listening services for people with emotional problems, meals on wheels for shut-ins, and palliative care for dying hospital patients. In somelocalities like area elementary schools, aI►►fl the• elm„rt ,arty Education Centre, .parents have taken it upon themselves to offer assistance for educating their young, This shows how volunteers are needed more than ever now that cost- conscious governments are partially withdrawing from various fields. - During this special week we should all honor the volunteer among usand think about 'Whatelsewecould be doing ourselves. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize of 1979 for her work among the poor in India, put the idea of service into perspective when she ,said, "We feel ourselves that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the oceans would be less because of that missing drop." Phyllis would never leave Phyllis Tyndall has given five years of her time and love to caring for Huronview's elderly. Being a volunteer to Phyllis, means help- • _ing__someone who-is_lonely and giving the special attention to someone who is bed rid- . den. • Phyllis starts her day at Huronview at 9:30 a.m. when she and the other volunteers serve ' coffee to the home's residents. After- wards, she is assigned various jobs for the day by a•co-ordinator. These duties may in - crude helping the elderly with their exer- cises, helping to administer special whirlpool baths or using her talents to help the residents become involved in certain craft activities: Next, lunch is served, the dishes, are cleaned away and the .afternoon-.. is donated to games and other activities: - Then tea or coffee is served and Phyllis leaves for home. : Being a volunteer is not new td this Clinton woman. Phyllis was a 4-H leader for 10 years, and she and her husband chaperoned the groups for trips away from home.. • Keith Tyndall, Phyllis' husband, also gives freely of his time. LiudaLentz (right) and Joan Chandler prepare Blyth Festival booklets to subscribers. Both women are board members and both give many hours time for the festival. ( Wendy Somerville photo). be mailed to of their free "If anyone needs help In the community, he is always there", . explains Phyllis. "Though he's paid for driving a bus, there have been times when the funds were low, • and he has driven for nothing." Both Phyllis. and Keith, give free hours to the church and their community's annual fair. An article published in an American news magazine not long ago described how women were using volunteer work as a foot in the door to the employment market. Phyllis strongly disagrees. . "I,don't believe there is a feminist angle to what we (the female volunteers at Huron - view) do. I know I can speak for all the ladies who volunteer there". Phyllis said if an opportunity came where Phyllis T-yndall she would have the chance to leave Huron- view for "a paying job, she•would refuse. "The first year I volunteered at Huron - view, I had to really push myself to go in • every day," remembers Phyllis. "I. was afraid I wasn't doing the right thing for the residents. After that first year, I knew I was doing the right thing". Most of us have to drag ourselves into work on Monday mornings, but Phyllis says "it's impossible for me to be down, they (residents) need me so I have to be up". This year Phyllis will receive her five year pin for her service at Huronview, and thoughts of leaving the home for the elderly completely elude her. "I will stay as long as I'm able", she said. • Festival's'Boar�d are:morethan casual helpers Even before the Blyth Festival opens for a season of theatrical and musical produc- tions, volunteers are busy writing for subscriptions, painting scenery, booking performers and arranging various other duties that must be seen to before the first curtain rises. About 40 youngsters from the surrounding area, volunteer as ushers. Others volunteer for the Friends of Blyth - they prepare meals, sell subscriptions, participate in the book sale and cook the annual gourmet din- ner. At the top of the festival's structure are the members of the board. The board has 19 open positions and they meet once a month: They discuss fund-raising ideas, building maintenance; and improvements, and discuss the festival's upcoming season with Janet Amos, the Artistic Director. "The board are the people who make the decisions about where the theatre is going and how it will get there," said Linda Lentz, aboard member. Linda said those who sit on the board are really more than casual volunteers. "We are really involved in a full-time occupa- tion," she said. "We are professional volunteers." According - to Joan Chandler, board member, ' curator of the art museum . and social committee member, the board offers anywhere'from 10 to 40 hours a week of their free time. "As we go along we get a feel for the theatre, the theatre and the community and then we ultimately become more involved," she. said. "It's like an addiction." The board members consist of farmers, housewives, an architect, a librarian, an in- nkeeper and a store -owner, .. "We have a very wide spectrum of peo- ple," added Joan. The festival's board is a working board, not a corporate or. social, board and members often speak for organizations like the Women's Institute. They, unlike larger theatres, work closely with the. artistic director, and the general manager, Brenda Donner. They also sell souvenir programs and hold parties for the casts. Linda Lentz said the theatre's hired employees also ,become volunteers during their off hours. "They have such a love for the place and many help with things like patching the roof or helping with the Medieval Feast," she said. She said the board also have a great bond among themselves, and I'm glad to be a part of that." In May of 1979, the board was formed with the incorporation of the festival. Since then members have been involved in many ex- citing as well as serious undertakings. Their fund raising i ivulves-three-separate categories; Project fund raising, the Medieval Feast, the 'book sale and the gourmet dinner; direct solicitation on the Leiporate level, the local business level and the individual • level; and the government level, including county council and local municipalities. Both Linda and Joan say that the board's fund raising activities have been very suc- cessful in the past and often their goals have been reached and surpassed. . This year they have a summer operating budget of $40,000 and they have already rais- ed 27 per cent of that. "We have a long way to go, but we're doing nicely," Linda noted. Apart from the summer operating budget, a further $15,000 and $20,000 of capital fund raising is needed for a new lighting system and the grand piano. Linda said the board receives a tremen- dous amount of support from within the festiVal's 30 mile radius. Over 60 per cent of their funds come frpm this area. —If -The -theatre succeeds because we enjoy selling our project", stressed Linda. "We believe in it and it's a pleasure to br- ing people pleasure," added Joan. Mother of four tackles new position with enthusiasm Linda Hruden of Goderich is about to step into a very unusual position. She was recent- ly appointed President of the Goderich and Area Big Brothers and though the job is "a little scary" it is proving to be quite a challenge for the single mother of four. "Even though this is all new ground for me, I'm looking forward to helping," she said. Linda has been involved with the Goderich Figure Skating Club for about seven years and right now she is also presi- dent of that organization. So being a leader is nothing new. Though she claims to be very unorganiz- ed, Linda has already made plans for set- ting up positions for organizing one or two annual functions to raise ,money for Big Brothers. "I think the toughest job will be matching the right Big Brother with the right child," she said. "References will have to be called and there is a police check for each appli- cant who wants to become a Big Brother". Linda Hruden When Linda's son needed a big brother she told the organizatidn she would offer help if they needed it. "They asked me if I wanted to attend a board meeting and I did", she remembered. "I attended another Big Brothers' event and then they asked me if I wanted to become president. It was as soon as that", laughed Linda. Linda is not apprehensive about taking on the responsibility of running the organiza- tion. "There are some women who have already offered to help. I know them through the figure skating club, they're hard workers, so I'm not worried", she com- mented. If a good paying job was available for the single mother she said she would try to tackle both at the same time. If two jobs couldn't be handled, Linda said she'd choose Big Brothers. As a single mother, Linda said she realizes the importance of Big Brothers because "it's very hard to have time alone with just one child". The Columbian Squires are part of a clean up project at the yard of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Clinton. The boys volunteer their services to the community and discover new ways to raise funds for donations and for the operation of their club. Some of the members are: clockwise, left to right, Liam Doherty, John Levis, Peter Brand, Jason Bennett and Matthew Kerrigan. Boys give to worthy causes Big Brothers offers this one-on-one rela- tionship and like the men who volunteer their time to become a Big Brother, Linda has the same qualities of caring, understanding and an appreciation for the art of friendship. "I know a lot of people who would make great volunteers", she said. "All they have to do is try it once". Photos and stories by Wendy Somerville Clinton has a group of some 13 boys • who, by using ingenuity and free time, develop their own leadership skills in preparation for the adult roles they,will later assume. The Columbian Squires is an organization made up. of Catholic boys between the, ages of 12 and 17 who, through organizing various -activities-in thefe eomrnunr'ty;r-rise mane for worthy causes and for the operat ton of ;their :club. . The croon is air official youth: group of the Knights of Columbus. The counsellors for the youths are Paul Kerrigan, chief counsellor, Bryan Levis, Pat Higgins, Ken Reidy and Dennis Vere. These men are primarily concerned with "giving direction"., says Mr. Kerrigan. "The boys pretty well run the whole show" codunented Mr. Kerrigan. The "show" consists of anything from organizing sponge hockey with the Stratford branch of Columbian Squires, a freethrow competition, an Ash Wednesday mass in Blyth to entering a float in the Klompen Feest parade. Also organized earlier in the year was a wood cutting project. The money from this project went towards the Clinton hospitaland also helped to pay for the club's' various activities. • The Columbian Squires, participate in six areas of programming: spiritual, civic- cultural; social, athletic, service • and member -ship. -Involved--:m::-these ..areas are: David Reidy, Chief Squire, Notary " and • -Auditor Pete•Brandt Auditor and Athletic organizer; Jason Bennett, Auditor; Liam Doherty, Spiritual organizer; Carlos Brand, Civic -cultural organizer; , Matthew Ker- rigan, Social organizer; John Levis, Service organizer and Brian Philips who is the Bulletin Editor and is in charge of fund rail- ing The young men also attend meetings designed to promote ideas for further fund raising activities, athletic programs and general community involvement plans. Reports are then written by the boys and sent to the headquarters for the Columbian Squires in Ottawa and New Haven, Connec- ticut. Janene Wise is involved in the parent help program at the Wesley -Willis Day Care Cen- tre. The volunteer, along with all other volunteers in North America, will be honored dur- ing Volunteer Week from April 23 to 27. (Wendy Somerville photo) Stats recognize volunteers In 1980, Statistics Canada included, for the first time, questions in their 1979-80 Labor Force Survey on the Volunteer Labor Force. By the end of 1980, 2.7 million Canadians worked as volunteers (15 per cent of the adult population) . The total number of hours worked was 373,991,000 and this number is equivalent to 218,000 persons working a 40 hour week for a full year. The average number of hours worked was 137 flours per person. If these volunteers wore paid at the average industrial wage, they would have represented $3.5 billion in earnings. Of these volunteers, 54 per cent were -female, 46 per cent were male. The results of this survey were based on those volunteers working with established organizations. The data, therefore, does not capture much of the volunteer work per- formed in Canada on an informal or in- dividual basis. The total wage foregone by volunteers in • 1980, would constitute 1.2 per cent of the Gross National,Product (1980 rate).