As in-person events return, many Manitoba organizations struggle to find volunteers
COVID concerns, long-delayed travel plans cutting into numbers, says Fringe Festival volunteer co-ordinator
A shortage of volunteers has made the return to in-person events that were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic a challenge, according to some Manitoba organizations.
Alexandra Gerow, volunteer co-ordinator for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, says while COVID-19 remains worrisome, the annual theatre festival could use more volunteers this year to get back to operating the way it did in 2019, when it last held an in-person theatre festival.
After two years of cancelled live performances, the Fringe opened Wednesday, with 113 performing companies mounting productions at venues around Winnipeg's Exchange District and beyond.
The festival typically counts on more than 700 volunteers for everything from selling tickets to helping at the Kids Fringe area, which moves to Stephen Juba Park this year, to bartending at the festival's beer tent in Old Market Square.
The festival was short of that mark before opening day this year, Gerow said.
"We are not seeing people return, as they are either taking the opportunity to travel where they couldn't for the last two years, or they are still concerned about COVID-19," she said.
"This just means that we are prepared to be short-staffed on a lot of nights.… Things might not run as smoothly, and we kind of have to have an all-hands-on deck mentality."
The festival also has a vaccination mandate for staff and volunteers, and some people do not meet that requirement.
The festival, which runs until July 24, is still accepting volunteer application at its Fringe central headquarters, at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre on Market Avenue, she said.
Regardless of how many volunteers are available, though, the festival — the second-largest fringe theatre festival in North America — will manage, said Gerow.
"Come rain or shine, the show must go on. We're going to make it happen."
Siloam Mission, Main Street Project feel the pinch
Siloam Mission is feeling the pinch in its kitchen and donation-sorting area — both essential for the service agency, which provides shelter, meals, and progressive services to help people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, said communications manager Luke Thiessen.
Thiessen says before COVID-19, Siloam had approximately 2,000 active volunteers. Operations ran better then, and they rarely had to ask staff to step in to help with activities volunteers could handle. Now, that's a regular request.
"Some of the first things that we heard as we invite our volunteers back were concerns about COVID-19, about safety and not feeling comfortable coming into this space to work," said Thiessen.
Other volunteers told Thiessen they adjusted their lifestyles during COVID-19, and volunteering now isn't a fit.
Main Street Project, which also provides services for vulnerable Winnipeggers, is facing the same challenges, said community engagement and volunteer co-ordinator Karen Murison.
But she encourages potential volunteers to step forward, assuring them they won't regret the experience.
"Volunteering is … a lot of fun, [and] it's really meaningful work," she said. "You get to meet great people [and] connect with a really great community."
Lost connections
The challenge in finding volunteers is due to "the perfect storm for a variety of things," said Dawn Bourbonnais, manager of communications at Volunteer Manitoba, which helps connect people with volunteer opportunities and promotes volunteerism.
With in-person events cancelled earlier in the pandemic, many organizations lost connections with their regular volunteers. Those volunteers often found other things to keep them busy, she said.
"People have realized coming out of this pandemic what their time means and the value of it," and they're now selective about where they want to spend that time, said Bourbonnais.
Two years of COVID restrictions, along with a particularly harsh winter, also have many people looking to travel or relax this summer, rather than working as volunteers, she said.
On top of that, "there's a lot of competition this summer" among events and organizations looking for volunteer help.
Bourbonnais adds that many volunteers are senior citizens, who may be hesitant to go back to volunteering due to safety fears around COVID-19.
As they work to recruit volunteers, "organizations need to change what they were doing before the pandemic," said Bourbonnais.
"You can't just put a call out for help and expect people to come to you."
Instead, organizations should carefully consider what they're asking people to do, and target the right group of people to get what they need.
Hiring a volunteer co-ordinator can help with recruitment, she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
