Volunteering

A soapbox editorial by (guess who?) ron thomas

For 10 years Jacky and I have watched the coming and going of volunteers in our Longview Hills Community. This community is well known here as well as throughout Newport for its generosity and support of a variety of charities, clubs and organizations. Folks here have a most valuable commodity to bring to the table.... time. Time to do many of the things that we would have liked to do during our working life when we had to sell our time to an employer to raise a family and put bread on the table.

Of course not everyone is interested in sharing their time and they choose to hoard their time and energy to devote to whatever it is they choose to pursue. Can’t fault that idea as each person now gets to choose and that is probably the best part of retirement.

Now there is this thing about our time that you know about but may not have considered, kind of put it on the backburner to think about at another time. Time for all of us living beings takes a toll on health. That is simple enough.. I don’t think there will be much argument on that. At this end of life.. “The Retirement Years”, health declines more rapidly than in the rest our lives. As you graduate to another year of life you may feel the loss of a physical ability and though modern science tries to slow and stave off this process it is inevitable.

Still, in this community, folks that volunteer feel called to extend their volunteer activities beyond the point of where common sense dictates they should. So, I put it to you that if we are to continue with Social Club activities, Fishing Clubs, CERT teams, Potlucks... Games, Community events and the like... Those things that give our community such charm and purpose.... We need to all step back here and take a look at this situation....

Say that you are a young person (under 65) new to retirement. It’s wonderful beyond your wildest expectations... there are so many things to do... you’re having a ball... Volunteering? “Uh, yeah just as soon as I......(fill in the blank)” . You must know, if you stop a second and consider, that most of our volunteers are older (actually, they are you in 5 to 10 years). Look at the bulk of them entering their 65th -75th birthdays.. Do they move those chairs and tables around in the clubhouse? When they serve you a breakfast what do they do afterwards? (I personally am pooped for 3 to 4 days) But you who don’t volunteer are out there having fun right after breakfast. I have heard it said that the same folks in the Fishing Club that do all the volunteer cleanup and fish trap activities wonder why the rest of the club doesn’t show for those chores but enjoy all benefits of membership. Have you heard the people at the Old Geezers complain about the activities or the state of the clubhouse or how the depleting Social Club treasury should be used for this or that? Our CERT team is aging and in some cases passing away or moving on... When the crisis comes and it will... who will be trained to look after our welfare? Maybe you younger folks feel that you can take care of yourselves... (Guess what?... You will soon be older. And I mean soon.)

If our park has 265 folks why can you only count on 10 or so to do the bulk of the work? Maybe 20 or so to help some of the time and certainly no more than 30 to 40 to participate in an activity? Whatever the reasons here is a truth .. count on it, “As our people get older they are capable of less volunteering”. They may want to volunteer and help but they are less and less able to do more and more. Young man or Young woman... step up to the plate... Time for you to learn the ropes and volunteer. Now you may think that this is a bunch of hooey but I will now illustrate for you just how incredibly self centered our folks are.... Ready?

I can absolutely guarantee the residents of this park that I can pack the clubhouse for a specific kind of activity. All I have to do is say, “Free food and someone will prepare and cleanup after you... Just come and enjoy yourself.” I am betting 60 to 90 people will be there... guaranteed. Also, I know the same 10 people will be there serving and cleaning up after them. Don’t believe it... The Annual Fall (free) Dinner is coming up... As you look around the room and are counting don’t forget to count yourself.