Volunteer shortage impacts Nebraska organizations
Across Nebraska and the nation, community organizations are grappling with a growing challenge: fewer volunteers.
By News Channel NebraskaVALENTINE, Neb. — Across Nebraska and the nation, community organizations are grappling with a growing challenge: fewer volunteers. Research from the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy shows volunteer participation has been declining for years, a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In small towns like Valentine, volunteers are the backbone of everything from youth sports to civic groups such as Rotary.
“It’s really important to help a town our size grow and stay strong. We have to be out there and working at it every day,” said Nadeane Allard.
Allard has been involved with the Valentine Rotary Club since the 1980s and also volunteers with several other local organizations. She’s seen firsthand how volunteer numbers have thinned over time.
“A lot less people, and I don’t know if it’s generational,” Allard said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, volunteer participation dropped in 2021 to its lowest level in nearly two decades. Experts cite economic pressure, longer work hours, reduced free time, changing social habits and lingering effects from the pandemic as key factors.
The impacts are already visible across Nebraska, with headlines highlighting volunteer fire departments and EMS services struggling to staff calls, and community organizations forced to scale back programs due to a lack of help.
Bob Stetter, another longtime Valentine volunteer, has been involved with several organizations, including Rotary, since stepping away from ranching. He estimates volunteer participation has declined by about 50 percent.
“Young people just don’t get involved like they used to,” Stetter said.
Despite the challenges, Stetter believes the rewards of volunteering remain the same.
“Doing things for other people is where the real satisfaction is in life,” he said.
Community leaders say that sense of fulfillment is still there; they just hope more people will step forward to keep local organizations and services running.