Volunteers play a vital role in 亚洲天堂 Lake, and that鈥檚 why some events have to be cancelled when there鈥檚 not enough of them.Most recently, the 亚洲天堂 Lake and District Seniors Society had to cancel their annual seniors picnic because they couldn鈥檛 find enough volunteers to organize the event. But has the number of volunteers actually been declining?

According to Statistics Canada, the share of people aged 35 to 44 who volunteered across Canada decreased by six percentage points from 2010 to 2013. With older Canadians, the proportion who volunteered was virtually unchanged.

While the decline in the volunteer rate may be part of a broader trend across Canada, Sandra Barth, who volunteers in several community organizations and was the winner of this year鈥檚 B.C. Community Achievement Award, said the number of volunteers in the Lakes District simply tends to oscillate over time.

鈥淲hat I think in 亚洲天堂 Lake is that people volunteer for different things at different times during their lives; for example, in a young family, parents tend to volunteer in their children鈥檚 programs, such as youth soccer or hockey,鈥� she said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a senior, you tend to volunteer for the Lakes District Food Bank, church projects, 亚洲天堂 Lake and District Healthcare Auxiliary, etc.,鈥� she continued. 鈥淐urling, mountain biking, skiing and sledding are examples of special interest clubs that draw on a cross-range of the population for their volunteers.鈥� 鈥淚n the case of the seniors鈥� picnic [being cancelled], it might be that June is not a good time to do it due to people travelling or camping or fishing,鈥� she added. 鈥淚t might be that it got too big and is now perceived to be too much work; or, maybe we just got older and hoped that younger seniors would take up the project.鈥�

Last year, 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 Canada Day parade was cancelled due to a lack of volunteers.Randi Amendt, manager of the 亚洲天堂 Lake and District Chamber of Commerce, said this year鈥檚 Canada Day committee has 鈥渟lowly gotten smaller.鈥�

鈥淥ur first Canada Day committee meeting back in February had 10 people attending the meeting; our last meeting on May 1 was down to five people.鈥�

However, Amendt said five people is still an improvement from last year鈥檚 committee of two people.

鈥淲e are still looking for volunteers to help set up in the morning and help clean up in the afternoon,鈥� she said.

Another local group that could benefit from more volunteers, especially the younger ones, is the 亚洲天堂 Lake and District Healthcare Auxiliary. Although the group has dozens of volunteers, their average age is 75.

鈥淲e do not have the manpower; our people are getting older and we need younger volunteers,鈥� said Jeanie Reimer, president of the 亚洲天堂 Lake and District Healthcare Auxiliary.

While volunteerism may be down for some volunteer groups in the Lakes District, that hasn鈥檛 been the case for the 亚洲天堂 Lake Rotary Club. 鈥淭his year our club campaigned for new members, and after a lot of work and invites we have had five new members join our club,鈥� said Laura Blackwell, president of the 亚洲天堂 lake Rotary Club. 鈥淥ur club has been in existence for over 60 some years and we have had about 18 members for a very long time; but this year we promoted our club and went out and invited a whole bunch of people to join and we were successful in recruiting five new members.鈥�

鈥淭he 亚洲天堂 Lake Rotary Club has done many great things in the past for the community such as the skate board park, the tennis courts, last year we did a revitalization to the 亚洲天堂 Lake Cemetery and this year our major project will be revitalizing the Rod Reid Trail, without the hard work of volunteers none of this would be possible,鈥� added Blackwell.

If anyone is interested in joining the 亚洲天堂 Lake Rotary Club, they can get a hold of Blackwell at Lakes District 亚洲天堂 or speak to any Rotarian. To join the Healthcare Auxiliary, visit the 亚洲天堂 Lake Thrift Shop; and to volunteer at the Canada Day celebration, contact the chamber.

Volunteerism good for the economy

According to 亚洲天堂 Lake resident Sandra Barth, without volunteers many events and activities in the 亚洲天堂 Lake area would not exist.

鈥淵ou only need to look at any edition of the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 to see articles or ads about things happening in our community because of volunteers,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o volunteers, no picnic; no rental of the Island Gospel Church; no shopping for groceries or paper goods; no invites to Houston or Fraser Lake senior groups.鈥�

Barth says volunteerism also benefits the local economy 鈥渋n quiet ways.鈥�

鈥淥bviously, local motels and restaurants benefit directly from hockey tournaments, dog shows, concerts, car shows and other events; but, throughout the year, each of the non-profit clubs have meetings, and following these meeting there is usually a social get-together at A&W or Alternative Grounds or such,鈥� she said.

鈥淪ome meetings are catered, and sometimes meetings require a rental space,鈥� she added. 鈥淐lubs buy ads in the local paper and have posters printed; and sometimes one just has to have a new dress to go to the wild game banquet or ducks unlimited banquet or the chamber of commerce鈥檚 awards gala.鈥�