Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley at the table for the Gabriola Health Care Foundation, at the Open House held on November 8 at the Community Hall for volunteer organizations. Derek Kilbourn photo

Chamber of Commerce says non-profits and volunteers are at capacity

Hope Lompe

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

The importance of volunteerism to Gabriola Island is none more evident than by the approximately 100 person attendance at the Volunteer Open House for 25 organizations held at the Gabriola Community Hall on Nov. 8.

The event was put on by the Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative, the Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce. GabriolaHealthcare Foundation, funded through Island Health and led by the People for a Healthy Community.

Local organizations in need of volunteers set up booths to connect with the community and engage in a brainstorming session to discuss non-profit work on the island. Out of that session, Udal says capacity challenges for non-profits became a recurring theme.

“Volunteer capacity is a critical part of the not for profit sector, which is part of the Gabriola economy. It helps run our arts and culture events, our activities that make living life on Gabriola so valuable and sought after,” says Erin Udal, Executive Director of the Gabriola Island Chamber of commerce.

“We have over 50 organizations on Gabriola that help run services and events, and none of that would be possible without the volunteer industry that goes into making them happen.

Udal says part of the initiative for this event has been a nationwide drop in volunteer capacity since the COVID-19 pandemic that Gabriola has not been immune from. She says about 41 per cent of people used to volunteer in Canada, now that number is down to 32 per cent, and the amount of hours people put into volunteering have dropped by 28 per cent.

“So people are still volunteering, but they’re volunteering less than they were, which is a big part of the labor source on the island and in small communities,” Udal says.

Economics could be the driving force behind the volunteerism decline. Compared to pre-pandiemic levels, goods that cost $100 in 2019 would be $121 now, a 21 per cent change according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator.

“Young people aren’t jumping into volunteer roles nearly as much, probably because of the economics of the time and kind of work load that younger people have,” says Udal, “We really want to make sure people feel celebrated and know how important their work is valued as volunteers in the community.”

However, Erin believes the non-profit sector is in a good place right now, and says events like these are answering the organization’s requests for more volunteer engagement efforts. Udal adds the Chamber of Commerce just applied for funding to update the website with software to function as a volunteerism and job board, so people can easily see where the opportunities are on the island.

“It’s both a responsibility and a privilege to volunteer, and I think a lot of people want that opportunity and to feel part of the community in that way,” Udal says.

The RDN also benefits from providing funding and service contracts to volunteer-run organizations and non-profits on Gabriola. In the proposed 2026-2030 financial plan, there is $12,451,797 allocated for organizations across the RDN, with nine specific to Area B.

“For islands we are quite distinct from the rest of the RDN, even compared to other electoral areas … I’m very thankful that we have community groups that are still willing to participate and step up like this,” said Vanessa Craig, Director of Area B to the Sounder in October.

“It does result in cost savings … that means that we do put fewer demands on RDN staff, but we also pay less for administration,” she says.

25 volunteer organizations from Gabriola were set up at the Community Hall for the November 8 event. Derek Kilbourn photo