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As volunteer numbers plummet, the big question is —are we too busy to care?

As volunteer numbers plummet, the big question is —are we too busy to care?

From the Dragon Boat Regatta in Broome to the Orange Mardi Gras festival on the other side of the country, community events are being cancelled and emergency services are struggling to cope as the number of volunteers plummets.

The trend has triggered soul-searching among community groups and charities — is it a temporary blip linked to the COVID pandemic, or have Australians become more selfish?

“What we’ve seen is a longer-term decline in volunteering rates, and that’s been amplified by the COVID pandemic,” Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce says.

Paramedics gather around a person on the ground in a park with an ambulance parked nearby
Emergency service crews are staffed mainly by volunteers in many parts of regional Australia.(Supplied)

“There are also changes in how people want to volunteer and participate — there’s increasing demand for flexibility that doesn’t necessarily correlate with the structure of formal volunteering programs.”

The 2021 census data recorded a 19 per cent drop in volunteering since the last snapshot in 2016. The finding is backed up by more regular, in-depth social surveys done by the ABS.

A graph showing a reduction in numbers of a decade period
The number of Australians volunteering has reduced significantly in recent years.

The biggest decline has been recorded in the 15-24 year old age group, the same age group posting an increasing number of controversial ‘good deed’ stunts on social media. 

The depletion of the volunteer brigade is affecting sports clubs, emergency services and long-established organisations like Rotary and Lions, that help run events and raise funds for local charities.

Country towns suffering

The impact is most noticeable in regional areas, where event organisers and first-responders are more likely to be unpaid.

As a result, some events are being cancelled, such as the annual Dragon Boat Regatta in Broome. 

A wide shot of stalls, people and dragon boats lined up along turquoise waters of a bay.
The Dragon Boat Regatta sees dozens of teams race in Broome’s Roebuck Bay.(Supplied: Abby Murray Photography)

It has been a popular fixture in the town for almost 20 years, and raises tens of thousands of dollars for charity. But this year there weren’t enough people to organise or run it.

“The practical impact in regional and remote Australia is that social activities and the cohesion that takes place by community coming together is lost or significantly reduced,” Mr Pearce says.

“And that has implications for the livability of these communities in which people choose to spend their lives.”

The Dragon Boat Regatta is usually organised by the local Rotary chapter, which currently has only a handful of members.

It is hoping to find enough local people to help with the nine-month organising process to revive the regatta in 2023.

A group of drag queens blows kisses and laughs.
The Drags on Boats team debuted at the 2015 Dragon Boat Regatta, where most ended up in the water.(ABC News: Erin Parke)

Events struggling across the country

Meanwhile in Alice Springs, organisers are struggling to pull together enough volunteers to hold the beloved Henley-on-Todd Regatta, which raises money for local Rotary Club projects.

Every August, teams of people race on the dry Todd River in boats without bottoms in front of a crowd of about 4,000 people.

Secretary Ron Saint said getting the right number of volunteers had been “tenuous”.

“We would like to have 130 but we’ve got about a hundred. So we’re at that point where we’d like to have 12 people doing a certain role but we’ll have nine or eight,” he said.

Three men stand in a home-made cardboard boat ready to race down a dry riverbed.
Organisers are hoping more locals will get involved to ensure the future of the Henley-on-Todd river race.(ABC News: Alexandra Fisher)

“It’s not going to stop the event … but you’d want a few more [people] in case someone can’t make it.”

Mr Saint believed some people who might volunteer were now trying to make up for paid work lost during COVID lockdowns.

“People are time poor and as we try to get the economy kick started again it’s difficult to commit the discretionary time for volunteer work,” he said.

In March, a proposed inaugural Mardi Gras celebration in Orange, in central west New South Wales, was cancelled for the third year in a row when the small team of people organising the Rainbow City Festival event became “exhausted” from repeatedly having to postpone it. 

A scene from a mardi gras event.
The Rainbow City Festival will focus on providing more smaller-scale events in the future. (ABC News: Kevin Nguyen)

What’s causing the decline?

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that people aged 40 to 54 are most likely to volunteer.  

Women and men participate at a similar rate, with the greatest number of people volunteering with sporting clubs and religious groups.

People living in remote areas are most likely to volunteer, but the rates in regional and urban areas are almost identical. 

Social researcher Hugh Mackay has been monitoring Australian attitudes and lifestyle habits for six decades.

“This is a weird period we are in at the moment, that helps explain the decline of volunteering,” he says.

“We’ve been changing in ways that have made us more individualistic, much more concerned about ‘me and my rights and my entitlements and my identity’.

An elderly man leaning against a tree and smiling.
Ever the optimist, social researcher Hugh Mackay sees a silver lining in the COVID cloud.(Supplied)

“And that’s all working against our natural proclivities to be kind and compassionate and cooperative and help each other out.

“But it’s also worth noting that organisations that want volunteers have probably not been quite nimble enough, and not understanding all these societal shifts and the changing culture.”

Dr Mackay says the main change has been a withdrawal from community involvement.

This has been caused by an increase in the use of social media to stay “connected’; people living alone; and the trend for having fewer children, resulting in fewer opportunities to develop local friendships through schools and kids’ sporting clubs.

“We’ve also become too ‘busy’, and being ‘busy’ is a kind of hiding place, a barrier between us and others,” he says.

“It’s the enemy of social cohesion and the enemy of volunteering, because as long as we can convince ourselves we’re too busy to help other people, we can get away with it – we have made being busy a virtue.”

Are young people the problem?

Dr Mackay rejects the notion that young people are too selfish to volunteer, saying a more nuanced shift has occurred.

“Millennials have grown up with a deep sense of impermanence and have adopted a mantra of ‘let’s keep our options open’,” he says.

A large Chinese dragon performs for a crowd of people with palm trees in background
Every year dozens of volunteers are needed to be the ‘legs’ of Sammy the Dragon, as part of Broome’s Shinju Matsuri.(Supplied: Abby Murray Photography)

“Committing to anything long-term runs against the ethos of this generation, so they will be happy to help out, but reluctant to join up to anything that requires a weekly meeting or a long-term program.

“One of the favourite occupations of older people through history has been to bash younger people and complain about them.

“But it’s worth remembering that the rise of individualism is not a generational phenomenon, it’s happening right across the age ranges.”

All at sea as volunteers jump ship

Some organisations are adapting by asking people to help out with one-off events, or ramping up social media recruitment campaigns.

But sometimes the challenge is retaining the volunteer recruits who do sign up.

In the waters off Broome, it is a matter of life or death — every few weeks the volunteer Sea Rescue team is called out to save a sinking or stranded vessel.

A group of men in fluro shirts sit in a boat.
Volunteer skipper Gareth Owen briefs crew on a planned training exercise.(ABC News: Erin Parke)

Skipper Gareth Owen says cyclones, crocodiles and big tides make it a hazardous job.

 “It’s vital we’re able to crew the vessel, because the calls can come at any time,” he says.

“It’s always very close as to whether we have enough people.

“It’s a major problem, because we’re low on numbers and the commitment to training is quite high, so it can be  difficult to maintain people’s enthusiasm.”

Mr Owen, who originally signed up to learn marine skills with his young son, says he’s not surprised the latest census data shows a drop in volunteer numbers.

“I think we’ve seen over the past few years that some people have become a bit more self-centred and they don’t go out as much because of COVID,” he says.

“So I guess a lot of people have prioritised family, and that has put pressure on volunteers groups like us.”

Annie Stephenson has been volunteering with the group for two years, and coordinates recruitment.

A woman in a fluro short stands smiling in front of a boat.
Annie Stephenson says she benefited from volunteer organisations as a child, so is keen to contribute.(ABC News: Erin Parke )

Ms Stephenson says a recent advertising campaign attracted more than 20 people, but the numbers dropped away as they realised the commitment involved.

“It’s one thing to recruit people, but retaining them can be hard,” she says.

“Because there’s so much training involved, we’re looking for people who can commit for two years minimum, but people’s circumstances change, they’ll get a new job or have family commitments, which is totally understandable.

“The key thing for us is to have a big enough pool of qualified crew to share the load and fatigue management, and to make sure people don’t get burnt out.”

One of the new recruits is 18-year-old Byron Schaffer.

He says he doesn’t know many people his age who volunteer regularly.

Two men in fluro shirts on a boat at sunset
Byron Schaffer (left) is training as a Sea Rescue volunteer in Broome.(ABC News: Erin Parke)

“I think some teenagers see it as something that ‘adults’ do, people who are a bit more settled down,” he says.

“I really enjoy it, it’s something to do in your free time that makes you feel good.”

What does the future hold?

Volunteering Australia says there has been a small increase in participation rates this year, following the easing of COVID restrictions.

But they are still well short of the volunteer numbers of five years ago. 

Volunteer skipper Gareth Owen hopes recent natural disasters might prompt Australians to sign up and offer their time and expertise.

Volunteer Qld firefighter from the Rural Fire Brigade
Thousands of Australians volunteered during recent bushfires and floods.(Supplied: Queensland Department of Community Safety )

“With the floods and the firefighters you see so many awesome volunteers doing things, and I think people forget they are volunteers because they’re doing such an excellent job and they’re at it for so long,” he says.

“Sometimes people might think it’s part of the service we get for being Australian, and not realise we need to put our hand up and look out for each other by volunteering.”

Dr Mackay, now aged 83, remains optimistic.

“I think this rise of individualism marks a really weird, aberrant period in human history, and it’s not actually who we are,” he reflects.

“I think our true nature as communitarians, cooperators, and kind and compassionate people who look out for each other will re-emerge.”

“The pendulum is going to swing back, I am sure of it.”

Additional reporting Steven Schubert

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Question of the week: What Blueberry Festival events are you looking forward to?

What Blueberry Festival events are you looking forward to?

Joe Carbone

Sioux Lottery Owner / Sioux Lottery Blueberry Bocce Tournament Organizer
After a COVID hiatus of two years, I think people are really looking forward to the bocce tournament this year. 

Ashley Cassidy

Mother, with daughters Nova – 4 and Teal – one month
Blueberry Bert’s birthday!

Deanne Kulchyski

President / CEO of Sioux Lookout Hydro 
The bocce tournament and golf.

Andy Schardt

Sioux North High School Vice-Principal
All the great events. A favourites of mine is the annual Fire Fighters Social.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are you concerned about safety at public events after the Illinois mass shooting? – ABC17NEWS

Law enforcement on the scene of a shooting that occurred at a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

The suspect in Monday’s mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven dead and injured more than two dozen, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.

During the past 186 days, more than 300 mass shootings have happened in the US, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit tracking such incidents.

Are you concerned about safety at public events after the Illinois mass shooting? Vote in the poll below.


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Supercars teams question two-day events

Andrew van Leeuwen

Two-day meetings have become common for Supercars since the pandemic with five listed on the schedule for this year, including last weekend’s Winton SuperSprint.

Usually the meetings do run over three days, however the Friday is restricted to support category running before Supercars hit the track on Saturday.

The idea is that Supercars teams can save on accomodation and meals for their crew, while there is also a cost-saving for only having to broadcast two days, with the support running on Friday not televised.

At the recent Perth SuperSprint the Friday wasn’t even open to fans to save money on services required when the gates are open.

The flip side to the cost saving is a hectic schedule, particularly on the Saturday when there is two practice sessions, qualifying and a race.

As well as the pressure that puts on crews, the crammed schedule makes it difficult for teams to have drivers involved in fan activations like signing sessions.

According to Walkinshaw Andretti United team principal Bruce Stewart, the trade-off isn’t worth the cost saving.

“One of the beauties of our sport, which we can never lose sight of, is the connection and engagement with the fans,” he told Motorsport.com.

“In the COVID period the two-day events served a purpose, but I would be a big fan of trying to expand our engagement and reach over a long period for the fans and for the partners.

“I’m an unashamed fan of three day race meetings and enabling a better experience for anyone who takes the time to come to the track.”

Blanchard Racing Team owner Tim Blanchard argued that personnel are generally on site from Thursday onwards anyway.

“There’s pluses and minuses for everything, but for us three-day meetings are better,” he said.

“You can activate your sponsorship base better and involve the fans in what you’re doing a lot more. With a two-day meeting you’re just flat out racing, not doing anything else.

“It does add a little bit of cost for the teams, but a lot of teams are bringing up crew on the Thursday anyway.”

That same view is shared by Team 18 team manager Bruin Beasley, who says places like Benalla, near Winton, often have a three-night minimum booking on Supercars weekends.

“As soon as you make a booking for accomodation on a Supercars date, you have to book three days anyway,” he said. “The only real difference is a night’s meals. The rest of it is marginal.

“I think three days is much better, it takes the stress off everybody.”

Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards, meanwhile, argues that there are two sides to the story.

While he admits the two-day schedule puts pressure on crews, he’s of the opinion that the track time is what fans want.

“If I was sitting in the grandstand today, I came here to watch Supercars racing and I saw a lot of it,” he sad of Winton.

“Is it hard on the teams? Absolutely. I get where people are maybe not as comfortable with it.

“My gut feel, we’ll end up with a small number of them. I think they suit a weekend like [Winton]. Invariably on a Friday you hardly get anyone here anyway. So the value for money for the people who come on Saturday and Sunday, you see a lot more Supercars than you would if we practiced on the Friday.

“It’s bloody hard on the teams. [On Saturday] James’ car didn’t roll out of the truck on the money and we were in the back foot. You’re frantically trying to figure out how much fuel to put in the car, let alone looking at squiggly lines to try and make the car faster. On a three-day meeting it’s all very relaxed. The engineers sit in the truck for hours at night delving through everything.

“I think there are two schools of thought. But for the public that were here, they got more bang for their buck.”

The next two-day meeting on the schedule is The Bend SuperSprint on July 30-31.

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USM Symphony Orchestra hosts events for ‘Social Justice Week’

USM Symphony Orchestra hosts events for ‘Social Justice Week’

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra has planned a series of events to raise awareness of social justice issues.

The programming will feature musical performances, guest lectures, masterclasses and more.

Both Thursday and Friday will include concerts featuring the guests, including composer Xavier Foley.

Some of Foley’s compositions, including For Justice and Peace, will be performed by the symphony orchestra with Foley joining.

“Well, the students here are very talented, and I don’t have to worry,” said Foley. “The piece works itself out with this talented group here.”

“Yeah, it is great to hear my own music, but again, sometimes we can get a little too picky, so I try to just let them do their thing and everyone have fun.”

“It’s very special, Xavier is a very special young man,” said USM Director of Orchestral Activities, Dr. Michael Miles. “He’s a composer. He’s a beautiful artist, solo artist.

“The impression that he makes on our young people is instantaneous and just huge for them, so he inspires them the minute he walks on the stage.”

A collection of events is listed below.

Thursday, April 21:

  • 3 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Challenges in Diversity and Inclusion in the Music Industry. Panelists: Xavier Foley, Weston Sprott, Joyce McCall and Anthony Wellington at the Intermezzo Gallery
  • 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Lecture and Q & A with Weston Sprott at The Hub, Room 100
  • 7:30 p.m. – The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra presents …and Justice for All with guest artists Xavier Foley and John Uzodinma. Also, featuring Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 at the Bennett Auditorium.

Friday, April 22:

  • 10 a.m. – Noon – Masterclass with Xavier Foley at the Intermezzo Gallery
  • 7:30 p.m. – The University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble with guest artist Weston Sprott at the Manonni Performing Arts Center

Tickets can be purchased at the door on the night of the performance.

Copyright 2022 WDAM. All rights reserved.

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Melania Trump Event Called Off After Officials Question Fund-Raising

Melania Trump Event Called Off After Officials Question Fund-Raising

“Tulips and Topiaries will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience — an afternoon of sophisticated elegance set in elaborate, lush floral gardens designed to inspire giving, hope, possibility, and dreams,” a news release her office put out in January said. She later sent out a notice on her new social media account with Parler.

But Mrs. Trump, in a statement to The New York Times, has said she was not organizing the event, and was just a participant. (Ms. Moffet said the state had separately concluded that Mrs. Trump had not solicited funds in way that would require her to register.) She declined to address whether money raised at the planned event would be used to pay her personally, and instead criticized questions about the event.

“The media has created a narrative whereby I am trying to act in an illegal or unethical manner,” she wrote in a statement last month. “That portrayal is simply untrue and adversely affects the children I hope to support. Those who attack my initiatives and create the appearance of impropriety are quite literally dream killers. They have canceled the hopes and dreams of children by trying to cancel me.”

Both Melania Trump and former President Donald J. Trump have aggressively raised private money in the year since he left public office. Mr. Trump has published a $75 coffee-table book, gone on an arena tour, held an event with Whip Fundraising last December, and is behind a new social media company.

Even as Mr. Trump holds political rallies, he has carved out time for for-profit events. On March 19, he is speaking at an arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where “presidential” level tickets are selling for nearly $3,000.

Mrs. Trump held an online auction in January to sell a hat she had worn at the White House in 2018. More recently, she has started what she says will be a series of sales of unique virtual photographs — so-called NFTs — of her and Mr. Trump at White House events, a promotion she started on Presidents’ Day that will generate as much as $500,000 in revenues if all 10,000 of the items sell out. So far, her website suggests more than 6,100 of these items have been sold for $50 a piece.

Mr. Keltner on Thursday declined to provide a new date or location for the rescheduled event. The website that had offered tickets to the Naples event has been taken down, a move Mr. Keltner attributed in part to bots that he said had been attacking the site “nonstop.”

Shane Goldmacher contributed reporting.