Life, and the world at large, is always moving, growing, changing and developing, and we all need to change and grow with it.
One of those areas of change is volunteerism, and the service clubs and organizations that provide many of those volunteers are finding it more and more difficult to keep doing those things that are a benefit to the community.
The ability of service organizations to survive and keep on serving the community lies in the willingness of their members to evolve and change, and to remain relevant to the community they serve. This in turn creates the interest for people to join the organization and help it to continue serving people.
Weyburn, and many of the surrounding communities, have examples of groups like this. The Rotary Club here is marking its 100th year in Weyburn, and they are continuing to emulate “service above self” as they donate to many groups and organizations in the community.
The Young Fellows Club, which is unique to Weyburn, will also be marking their centennial in a couple of years’ time, and they are also continuing to be a vital and active organization, contributing to many causes in the community.
There are many other groups that all have a role to play and they play it well: Quota International of Weyburn has their Women of the Year Awards coming up, and they make many donations to those who have needs in the community, not to mention the Kin Club (with Telemiracle up this weekend) and the Lions Club, who is trying to be reborn in Weyburn also. (There are many other groups who are important that I don’t have room to list — but they are also worthy of our support.)
I am quite sure that in each organization, there are discussions about what new projects they could do, or how they might continue to grow with new members, and this is a discussion that every group needs to have.
One of the factors that’s been driving change these days is the rise of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms and the role the Internet plays, as well as socio-economic factors like the changing dynamics of families, schools, and the community itself.
All of this has impacts on the local business community as well as on those groups that provide volunteers. What doesn’t change is that the backbone of every community are their volunteers. Without those who are willing to step up and help out, a lot of events and services will fall by the wayside — so let’s keep on volunteering.
