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3 The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanvillc. April 12. 1989 Half of Town's Adults Active in Volunteer Work Dance atM.J. Hobbs Raises *122.65for Cancer Society Work Melanie Brooks (left), and Angela Woodhouse are pictured here with the puppets they use in "Kids on the Block". The pair performs in the group every : Thursday and they rehearse their lines daily. Melanie ; and Angela are just two of the many Town of Newcas- than during this week, Na- tle residents who work as volunteers for a number of community groups. It has been estimated that about half of the town's adult citizens are active in some form of volunteer work. by Andrea Adair You may find them delivering delivering meals to shut-ins, ; coaching a hockey team or ' collecting donations for Can- ; cer research. ; And, if you add up their ! numbers, you'll discover ; that the Town of Newcastle ■has more volunteers than ; most Canadian communi- ; ties. According to the national ; average, about 15 per cent of • the adult population spends i some of its time performing ; volunteer work. But in this • municipality, that number is like 50 t more like 50 per cent. Volunteers are motivated for a wide variety of reasons. But Nancy Scott, executive director of Big Brothers, sums up their reasons for volunteering when she uotes a popular advertising ogan. "They care enough to give their very best," she says. There is no better time to recognize the contribution volunteers make to society T sli tional Volunteer Week, which runs from April 9 to 15th. Without the help of volunteers, volunteers, many organizations wouldn't survive and the services they provide for the community wouldn't exist. Jane Lunn, of the Town of Newcastle Community Services Department, noted there is difficulty in determining determining the exact number of people involved in volunteer organizations. But she estimated estimated over 50 per cent of the municipality's population population is active in some form of volunteering. The community services department has a listing of 212 organizations in the town. Included on that list are service clubs, non-profit organizations, community hall boards, sports associations associations and environmental groups. Since there are so many organizations, the people who keep the groups run- { €Rmtdotph 9 s ning are equally numerous. Fifty per cent of the population population volunteering their time and talent represents a lot of people. What makes them get involved? What motivates someone to use his free time helping others for no monetary return? Roxy Barnes, administrator administrator at Community Care, said there isn't one single force motivating everyone. She said she thinks volunteers volunteers develop an interest in an area, get involved with it, and discover they are enjoying enjoying what they are doing. Mrs. Barnes has had much experience with volunteers, volunteers, having been one herself. herself. Now, she co-ordinates the work of almost 250 through her duties at Community Community Care. She got involved with the organization because she enjoyed enjoyed working with people and found herself getting more involved as her interest interest grew. In the case of other volunteers, volunteers, she said, many start because they are looking for something to fill idle moments. moments. Once they get involved, she continued, they feel very rewarded by their work. The rewards and the motivation motivation may vary from volunteer volunteer to volunteer, however. however. Helen MacDonald has been an active volunteer in the Town of Newcastle for almost five years. Her list of volunteer work is varied. Examples of her many interests include: being being vice chairperson of the Newcastle Community Services Services Advisory Board, chairperson chairperson of the Clarke Museum Museum Board and secretary and founding member of the Port Granby Newcastle En- KEEP COOL ffiSIP AOi Goftditco/tM4 / Pre-Season Truck-load Specials Room and Central Air Conditioning 5500 BTU's and up! Very reasonable prices! Hurry...they're going quickly! Serving Durham Region since 1968. nier prises 161 Baseline Rd. E., Unit No. 1 Bowmanvillc vironment committee. She estimates that she spends 30-40 hours a week on these activities and likens likens her volunteer tasks to a full-time job conducted out of her home. Mrs. MacDonald said she thinks there is a "trigger" that motivates people who volunteer, suggesting it could be a family member with an illness or a friend involved with a particular activity. Whatever the reason, she continued, there has to be an incentive. "I get involved because I believe in it. You get a good feeling knowing that you're doing something worthwhile," worthwhile," she said. A major factor establishing establishing her involvement in the community, she said, is her roots. She grew up in a "tightly knit" community in Oshawa and was involved with organizations organizations that encouraged their members to be active in the community. Her parents were community-oriented community-oriented as well. So she ■ looks to them as examples and she follows their philosophy philosophy that "you're not here for you, you're here for everyone everyone else." She may have been brought up in a volunteer environment but it was the Port Granby nuclear waste issue that motivated Mrs. MacDonald when she moved to Newcastle. She said she was angry that a situation like Port Granby could develop but realized realized at the same time that it was her responsibility to be informed and get involved. involved. Now, she thinks being involved involved has made a difference. difference. "It works but it just takes time," she said. And she thinks other people people get involved for the same reason she has. "I think people do it because because they believe in what they are doing. It makes them feel good to be making a difference," she added. Melanie Brooks, 17, and Angela Woodhouse, 16, feel they are making a difference too. The two Bowmanville high school students have been involved with the "Kids on the Block" program since February. They explained the program program consists of a troupe of non-disabled and disabled puppets. Actors tour area schools performing skits with the puppets so children watching the performances may get a better understanding understanding of people with disabilities. disabilities. Melanie said the program takes up a lot of their time but said both she and Angela Angela are enjoying being involved. involved. "It's a fun way to get a message across to people," she added. Angela said she feels she is doing something worthwhile worthwhile even if only one person person learns something from their puppet shows. The pair initially got involved involved with the program for a project for school out now are getting a lot of satisfaction satisfaction from it. Although the motivation may be different for each individual individual volunteering, the end result is the same: the community benefits. Mrs. Lunn said the town could never provide a program program for every interest people people in the municipality may have. That would be too expensive. expensive. She said during the 70's the town was veiy program- oriented and would offer programs for whatever the community asked for. This became too costly, however, and the town couldn't continue the practice. practice. She said the town had to decide if their role was to offer offer a basic level of service - swimming lessons for beginners beginners for example-- or offer further services that would produce higher calibre competitive competitive swimmers. In the 80's she said some groups wanted those services services that went beyond the basic basic level and began to take over the program's operations. operations. "Everyone benefits from those transfers," she said, adding that "They can provide provide a higher level of service." service." Even though many recreation recreation programs are not run by the town, the community services department maintains maintains a role in their operations operations even if it is only in an advisory capacity. Each year the department department publishes a guide to the various organizations in the community. Mrs. Lunn also acts as a resource for the various groups. When an organization organization has questions about funding, for example, or recruitment, recruitment, (the two major problems faced by volunteer organizations),,^he is javaila- ble to help. i -■ Working so closely with volunteers, Mrs. Lufin has formed her own theories about why people "get involved". involved". She thinks many groups evolved out of an interest in something and many of the parents get involved with hockey groups or swimming clubs because of their children's children's interest in these sports. Or other people might become become active in organizations Students at MJ Hobbs held a spring dance on ty campaign chairman Ernie Eaves (right) are Darcy March 16 to help raise money for the Canadian Can- Rowe (far left), student council vice president and cer Society. The students raised $122.65. Pictured Carolyn Barkey, student council president, here presenting the cheque to Canadian Cancer Socie- These Are March Students of Month at M. J. Hobbs School 623-3221 -- 623-7997 6 ' i ou TRADE IN OLD FOR NEW Drop in (or details SOLID OAK AND PINE FURNITURE E PINE LOFT au. 167 SIMCOE ST. S., OSHAWA 579-9311 sikkens Super quality wood coatings engineered to stand up against the elements . . Ilenlamln A. i Moored, PAINTS CENTRAL PAINT AND WALLPAPER 295 Ritson Rd. S., Oshawa 434-3939 Teachers at MJ Hobbs Senior Public School selected selected the students of the month for March recently. Students Students at the school have been recognized each month for individual achievements in areas of development (such as academic or athletic) at school. Pictured here are in the front row from the left: Michael Shepard, Cherie Moncrieff and Nicki Sturgeon. Pictured in the middle from the left are: Angela Woodcock, Jim Love, Scott Blackburn, Derek Drumm and Brandy Sutcliffe. In the back row from the left are: Alicia Fogarty, Rob Vanlhinger, Adam Rowden, Ben Suter and Jenny Hudgin. relating to health problems, such as the Canadian Diabetic Diabetic Society, because of they know someone with that health problem. Again, she said, whatever the reason, the results "benefit "benefit the whole community." Mrs. Barnes agreed. Many volunteers feel rewarded rewarded by their work and, she said, "It's the best way to become better educated about something." She says there isn't a "main force" driving volunteers volunteers and said whatever it is that motivates them doesn't matter. What does matter is the end result. "For Community Care, having a volunteer could mean the difference between staying at home and not staying at home," she said. The many motivators that make someone volunteer volunteer aren't as important as the fact that people are motivated. motivated. As Mrs. Barnes said "There is a healthy and active active volunteer component in this area." "I'm always very proud of Newcastle," she added. Nurses Week Newcastle Council has decided to proclaim May 7 to 13 Nurses' Week in the municipality. municipality. According to the Ontario Nurses' Association, Nurses' Week is celebrated annually in Ontario to increase community community awareness of the "contribution of the nursing profession to the community and to emphasize the vital role nurses play in the health care system. Nurses' Week is celebrated celebrated across Canada during the same week. ATTENTION! NISSAN - DATSUN OWNERS FOR THE BEST IN FACTORY AUTHORIZED NISSAN PARTS, ACCESSORIES, AND SERVICE, CONTACT DURHAM REGION'S ONLY "AWARD OF MERIT" NISSAN DEALER. SPRING SERVICE SAVINGS COUPONS NOW IN EFFECT! IF YOU DIDN'T GET YOURS IN THE MAIL, CALL TODAY! Install the best! GENUINE NISSAN PARTS MIDWAY MOTORS £3 nissan ,S01 Sf E ' 668.6828 Customer First OUR VOLUME SELLING MEANS YOU SAVE! 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