Volunteering Is on the Decline
Volunteerism in the North Country is facing a rapid decline in participation numbers. Due to the decline, organizations that rely on volunteers — such as fire departments — are forced to modify their systems to stay fully staffed.
The Potsdam Fire Department is facing a negative impact of the volunteer crisis. Driver for the department, Mark Maroney, says that when he started in the department 12 years ago, there were at least 50 volunteer firefighters. Currently, they have around 30 members. Time commitment is the biggest inhibitor as to why people hesitate to volunteer, as “most trainees do not get home until around 10 p.m.,” says Maroney. This is difficult to manage for most people, but even more so for families.
Similarly, the Massena Fire Department has faced a decline in volunteer numbers, as Potsdam has, and this is attributed to limited time. “I think people are busier today than in the past,” says firefighter, William O’Brien, for the Massena Fire Department. O’Brien has been with the department for 35 years and has seen that, over time, families have become busier with sports, school and work, leading parents to no longer have the time to volunteer.
As the number of volunteers declines, concerns arise regarding the future of fire departments. “The volunteers are what make our department strong and what makes the community strong,” says Maroney. Since fire departments in the North Country rely on their volunteers for most of their membership, the decrease in volunteer firefighters will impact the citizens of the North Country.
With a continual decline in volunteerism but the never-ending need for fire departments, the solution to keeping the departments staffed is to offer “all paid services,” says O’Brien. Fires in the community will not come to a halt just because fire departments do not have the membership numbers to fight them. Therefore, New York State will have to find a way to pay firefighters to keep these numbers up, and this money will most likely come out of taxpayers’ pockets, says O’Brien.
Many organizations on the St. Lawrence campus are run by student volunteers and face similar challenges due to a lack of participation. Student volunteer Opor Promkaewtor ’27 recognizes the need for volunteers. “If there are no people, there would be no work getting done,” says Promkaewtor. She is a member of both Close the Loop and Campus Kitchens, two student-run volunteer organizations on campus that dedicate their resources to providing sustainable fashion and food to the community.
Students are hesitant to join volunteer organizations on campus: they must prioritize their time, which is the reason for the lack of volunteers in the fire department. When choosing between volunteering and paid work, Opor says that while she loves to volunteer, she must choose to work as “jobs and money are important.” Dedicating time to schoolwork and making money is something college students must do to succeed which, unfortunately, takes away from the time they can volunteer.
With the need for more money and time — but also the experiences that volunteering brings — students often turn to other organizations that can offer them both. Emergency Medical Services at St. Lawrence provides students with an opportunity to be paid while also teaching them valuable skills. “I want to be able to assist people and save their lives,” says SLU EMS Member Alice Khalil ’27, and joining EMS allows her “to gain lifetime experience” while also getting paid. Khalil does state that the experience EMS gives her is enough for her to be interested in the work without the pay.
To save organizations that give back to the communities, people may ask for more incentives to volunteer, as the amount of time it takes does not make up for the reward. For example, a stipend from New York State is starting to give out a stipend to volunteer firefighters, says Maroney, which will hopefully encourage more people to start volunteering, ultimately saving organizations, and saving the community.