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Page 14 THE HERALD Wednesday September 1989 ATTENTION HILLS Volunteers needed The pool of volunteers is getting smaller By BEN Herald Staff Social service groups in Halton Hills face an uncertain future unless the current trend of declin ing numbers of volunteers can be reversed Judith Rasanen of the North Halton Distress and In formation Centre says Between work and extra curncular activities like physical fitness pursuits fewer people now have time to devote to volunteer ing Ms said The centre volunteers answer telephone calls from distressed and lonely people and make refer rals to the appropriate agency for those in need of counselling Linda Berry who runs the Hills Volunteer Centre in Georgetown agrees with Ms statements saying the trend that started in the early 1970s has become acute during the last three to five years the centre which is a pro gram of the Social Planning Council volunteers are matched with agencies and is promoted Ms Berry says agency requests for volunteers doubled over the past five years There are current ly 35 agencies on file each with bet ween two and three requests for volunteers she said Ms Berry is optimistic the necessary volunteers can be found but she said agencies first have to change their recruitment policies to conform to when people have free time Because the number of women entenng the work force has been increasing during the past two decades the traditional voluntee a woman between the age of and who stays at home during the day has been disap pearing said Ms Berry Sofia service groups can no longer count on a significant number of women and men willing or able to do volunteer work during the day or for an extended period of time she said The is magnified in Halton Hills because a targe tion of its residents are com White about per cent of Canadians do some hours of volunteer work each month the figure Is only between 15 and per cent here But Ms Berry added the town has a solid core of volunteers who contribute several more hours than the Canadian average of three hours per month Organizations must start offer ing shortterm placements flexl Me hours and job sharing she said Bis Berry explained placement sharing Involves several people MAID SERVICE WHOS BEST TV SHOW COAST ID COAST J For FREE Estimates sharing the same job respon The Georgetown unit of the Canadian Cancer Society is one area agency that is employing job sharing to meet its shortage of peo ple v tiling to sit on its executive Barbara Johnson of the cancer society said the organization s positions of campaign and tial chairpersons have been split so that the responsibilities will now be shared between two people But for some agencies it im possible to adapt their service to suit the general public s time con straints MealsOn Wheels volunteer Liz Hardstaff says because the organization serves hot meals at lunch time to needy people volunteers are required at a specific time The executive director of the North Association for the Handicapped John Ellis faces another kind of problem in recruiting volunteers He said the association needs volunteers to fill clerical positions but recently he has been unable to attract people to fill them The association has had to raise the necessary funds to hire the staff to do these jobs he said Ms Berry says although most people interested in volunteering are motivated by the desire to help the community and the derived satisfaction most want something more People are no longer in terested in stuffing envelopes she said For a lot of people volunteering a way of gaining work ex to achieve career related goals Ms Berry said She explained the more positive a volunteer experience is the more likely the person will continue to volunteer Ms Johnson who is a volunteer with several other groups besides the cancer society says people are receptive to agencies that offer detailed descriptions of the available volunteer positions in the organization People don t have time to be do ing something with a fuzzy job description they want a job that is specific and one that has a beginn and an end Ms Berry along with Mr Ellis and Ms Johnson all seniors are a potential source of volunteers that remains untapped But they all agreed seniors will be unwilling to offer their services unless agencies recognize their needs Seniors like to travel so organizations must offer positions that run for short periods of time Ms Berry said Ms said nowadays there seems to be a lot of men ing early who could be volunteers but for some reason they haven t volunteered Although unsure of the reasons she suggested they associate volunteerism as something pursued only by women Terra Cotta Conservation Area presents HARVEST of COLOURS Sunday October 1st From9AM Craft Show Horse Drawn Wagon Rides Back in Time with Upper Canada Rtfle Club Pioneer Games Old Time Fiddlers Fee Per Veh Special Exhibits Face Painting and A Balloon Mini Golf 1 Deposit Try a Relaxing Shiatsu HO far 20 Mm FREE PANCAKE BREAKFAST 9AM 11AM FOOD CONCESSION 1200 00 P M Hiking Bruce Trail Picnicking For More Information Call General Delntff g 4UK70U15 LADIES JEANS REG DENIM SHIRTS REG 49 DENIM JEANS JEAN SKIRTS 20 OFF INTRODUCING BUGLE BOY CASUAL WEAR FOR MEN off SHIRTS PANTS SALE ENDS OCT 2689 MY GENIMON NEW HOURS Tues Wed Thurs Saturday 10 a 5 30 00 a m 5 00 p nx 5 MAIN ST S GEORGETOWN Across from Knox Pros Church