Media Clipping — Friday, February 12, 1999, The Daily News

Volunteers Dwindling - StatsCan

By Angela Forgeron Special to The Daily News

For more than 23 years, Cynthia Burney has worked up to 30 hours a week performing a multitude of duties, such as serving evening tea, raising funds, working as a gift shop attendant, book keeping and cleaning—all for free.

But according to a report released yesterday, she is part of a dying breed. Nova Scotians are clocking fewer volunteer hours than in the past.

"Across Canada, people are receiving 4.7 per cent less volunteer services than they were 10 years ago," said Ronald Colman, director of GPI Atlantic, a nonprofit group who based it's report on a Statistics Canada survey

He said the decrease in volunteer services is higher for Nova Scotia, with a 7.2percent loss.

The number of volunteers actually increased by 73,000 in the province, with married women and youths aged 15 to 24 being the most devoted. However, the amount of hours people are volunteering decreased about 25 per cent in the past decade.

"That's significant because, instead of volunteer services compensating for cuts in government services, it's a compounded loss," he said. "It's significant erosion to the social safety net."

He said the decline, attributed to growing time constraints on volunteers and the tough job market, is costing Nova Scotians about $60 million annually and the country $1.83 billion a year in lost volunteer services.

"Those in need ... are not getting the support and services they need for their basic essentials of life," said Colman. "In the last few years there's been this hope that somehow the volunteer agencies are patching it together ... but the opposite is true."

Colman said the work of volunteers often goes unnoticed because it is unpaid. He said if volunteers were providing services at the same rate as 10 years ago, the province would be receiving 4.3 million hours of help a year. It would cost $60 million to pay people to make up for the decrease in volunteer hours.

Burney said she'll continue to volunteer.

"Wherever the need looks more pressing ... I do whatever needs to be done," said Burney, who volunteers at the Halifax volunteer resource centre and the lung association.

"I like to keep busy and I like to feel useful," she said.

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