How charities are attracting badly needed volunteers post-Covid

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lori Beesley was responsible for a 500-strong cadre of volunteers providing a range of services through Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities (SCHC) — from friendly visits to Meals on Wheels and Food Bank roles and organizational support.

But on March 16, 2020, in line with public health guidelines, Beesley had to tell all her volunteers to stay home.

The result was a logistical nightmare as Beesley strived to maintain services to SCHC’s clients. But more than that, she worried about the long-term impact of losing her faithful volunteers. “We were really concerned about how many would come back,” she said. “People get busy, or they just develop other routines that don’t involve volunteering.”

The problem wasn’t unique to SCHC. A 2021 sector report by Imagine Canada — whose mission is to bolster the charitable sector — showed both paid and volunteer labour supplies were severely disrupted by the pandemic. Approximately three out of every five charities saw volunteer levels and hours decline. And frequently, the decline was substantial.

The Yonge Street Mission, for example, which dedicates itself to helping people in need or those experiencing homelessness, saw a 50 per cent drop in volunteers, from 3,000 in 2018 and 2019 to 1,800 the following year, according to the vice-president of philanthropy, Angela Solomos.

Finding new ways to connect

Given the vital role volunteers play in the charitable landscape, many charities found themselves reinventing the way they offered services, as well as scrambling to recruit new volunteers. The result, according to Imagine Canada, “has been a lot of experimentation and innovation.”

Take East York Meals on Wheels. When the pandemic hit, the organization suddenly found itself in the midst of a perfect storm: Food prices and costs soared and demand for nutritious meals grew as vulnerable people tried to stay out of grocery stores. What’s more, said executive director, Adriano Murarotto, “we introduced a new halal meal program which brought in a large influx of people we had never served before.” The non-profit went from about eight delivery routes a day to 18.

But even as demand burgeoned, Murarotto suddenly found himself with half the regular number of volunteer drivers to deliver meals. “A lot of our volunteers are retired people,” he said. “And with the stay-at-home orders, they were reluctant to come out unless for necessities.”

Since admitting defeat wasn’t an option, Murarotto began seeking out new ways to recruit. His most successful strategy was to reach out to Bike Brigade — a new group of volunteer cyclists who first mobilized to deliver food and other essentials during the pandemic. “I noticed them on social media,” he said. “And I thought, ‘This could work for us.’”

The organizers at Bike Brigade responded enthusiastically to Murarotto’s request for help and cobbled together a group of East End volunteers who continue to show up faithfully every Tuesday and Thursday to deliver meals by bicycle, e-bike, scooter and even tricycle. “It's been really amazing,” Murarotto said.

Solomos from the Yonge Street Mission said her organization used a similar technique. The charity reached out to the city’s universities, selling faculty on the idea that volunteering would help students “learn practical, transferable skills,” particularly if they were interested in working in the social services sector, food services, fundraising and even business administration.

Not only did those students provide valuable volunteer hours, but some of them return from time to time, while others have gone on to become YSM staff. “And the direct impact they see as a result of their work with YSM also influences them to recommend YSM placements to other students,” Solomos said.

Nurturing an ongoing connection

As for Beesley, she pivoted where possible. About 42 of SCHC’s regular volunteers shifted into duty at its vaccine clinic. And in-person “friendly visits” to elderly or vulnerable patients gave way to check-ins by phone. Many staff members took on extra jobs too — for instance, Beesley herself took on a Friday Meals on Wheels delivery route.

But she needed to keep the rest of her volunteers engaged and interested to ensure they would return to help when they could. And she wanted them to feel they were still contributing. “For many of our volunteers, that’s part of how they think of themselves,” Beesley said. “Giving back is part of who they are.”

Her solution was to ask them to write heartfelt Notes for Hope to their former clients. Over the next few months, several hundred participated. “I know you might be very worried right now,” wrote one volunteer. “But we will overcome this, and things WILL get back to normal. Stay safe and be kind.”

Another noted, “When ordinary things are suddenly no longer ordinary, you realize how very special ordinary things are.” Beesley chose one message each day, printed it out, copied it and stapled it to every Food Bank and Meals on Wheels bags.

Clients responded with gratitude and sometimes tears. “It's so nice, that a stranger would do this for me,” a woman who’d lost her husband to COVID-19 told Beesley. And another man on her Friday Meals on Wheels route said he looked forward every week to the note.

As for the volunteers, it maintained their sense of connection and involvement with the community they served. “I think the Notes of Hope served their purpose,” said Beesley. “They gave everyone the feeling that we were in this together.”

Volunteer levels at SCHC (and most other charities) still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, but somehow staff and remaining volunteers are managing. Nonetheless, said Beesley, if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the perfect moment to volunteer, there has never been a better time.

“I can pretty much guarantee,” she said, “that what you get out of the experience will far outweigh what you contribute.”