After four years of driving together for The Salvation Army rounding up donated food, Greg Puppo and Bill Davis are resigning from their volunteer assignments — also together. On Tuesday, they collected bread and pastries for the last time at the Safeway in Salmon Creek, one of their regular weekly stops.
“The friendship will keep on going, though,” Davis said.
The pair often talked about the Seattle Seahawks while driving their route around Clark County, and they hang out together outside of volunteer work. But at age 81, Davis realized he needs to scale back on his commitments.
He’s also a volunteer driver for Vancouver Parks and Recreation, which has afforded him the opportunity to see places he wouldn’t otherwise get to see. He needs more time to look after his wife, who’s in the beginning stages of dementia, and take care of himself.
“My body tells me it’s time to retire, but my mind says ‘no,’ ” Davis said.
Puppo has gotten too busy with his volunteer work and part-time job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The 66-year-old wants to begin enjoying his retirement from the U.S. Postal Service with his buddies — starting with a monthlong trip to Arizona.
“It’s a good feeling knowing that we’re helping people going through a tough time,” Puppo said while organizing donations in the 16-foot Salvation Army truck.
There are five volunteer driving pairs at The Salvation Army, including Davis and Puppo’s Tuesday bread run. Drivers have to start early in the morning and lift 20 or 30 pounds, so it’s not for everyone.
“Volunteerism is down for us, lately,” said Beth Kennard, director of family services at The Salvation Army.
The nonprofit’s roster of volunteers fluctuates, typically increasing around Christmas, when people sign on to temporarily volunteer as bell ringers. What the army desires is regular, long-term volunteers who can find their niche in the agency, whether it’s picking up food or working at the thrift store.
“We definitely see a lot of older volunteers, retired persons. That’s usually who has the time,” Kennard said.”You could volunteer three hours a day, once a week, and that’s great for us.”
Without volunteers, The Salvation Army would have to hire employees and cut back on services — just like any other nonprofit relying on volunteers, Kennard said.
They’ve tried to spread the word about the need for volunteers through the Human Services Council and word of mouth.
Volunteerism down
The Salvation Army is not alone in its quest to fill volunteer vacancies. As employment has gone up, volunteer levels have dropped for many local nonprofits.
“What we have noticed is that volunteerism right now is returning to pre-recession levels,” said Erin Adams, volunteer coordinator at the Vancouver-based Human Services Council.
In 2009 and 2010, amid the Great Recession, more people were volunteering. Volunteering is a way for people to fill time and r?sum? gaps, and get around that Catch-22 of needing experience to get a job that will give them experience, Adams said.
The Corporation for National and Community Service found that volunteering was associated with a 27 percent greater chance of getting a job.
Nowadays, older volunteers in their 70s and 80s are coming in less frequently or resigning from volunteer work, Adams said.
All of this doesn’t mean there’s a volunteer drought — just that some volunteers are aging out and others are quitting as they find stable employment.
“What we are seeing is an increase in the number of skilled volunteers offering pro-bono services,” Adams said.
More professionals are interested in volunteering their talents, whether it’s legal skills or web design. Nonprofits are trying to build a culture of volunteerism, where it’s normal or even expected that people would regularly help out in the community, Adams said.
