In many ways the best things in a community such as Yorkton exists by the efforts of dedicated volunteers.
But increasingly it seems more difficult to find people willing to give of their time to volunteer for all the things we have in the city, things that add to the culture of the community.
An obvious example of the situation is the Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, which held a meeting Monday night as a step toward finding new blood to revitalize the organization. The last time the Hall of Fame held an induction was in 2008. It was the 15th induction, but after the event the organization has struggled finding volunteers and board members.
Monday’s meeting was attended by only a dozen people. Most were most certainly among the grey-haired generation, a group that has already given much to the community through the years. While their sage help is always appreciated, organization’s need younger people to step forward to take the reins.
The Hall of Fame emerged from the meeting with two names on a list willing to sit on a new board. They need at least eight, or the future of the Hall of Fame will come into question.
Monday night the Yorkton Cardinals baseball team was also holding a meeting. The long-time member of the Western Baseball League is on a year’s leave from the league, a year where they must deal with lingering debt, and bolster volunteer numbers if they are to return in 2021.
Certainly the city, like most in Saskatchewan has a proud tradition of volunteerism. One need only look as far as the Yorkton Kinsmen Club, an organization with a rather long history locally, a history extending back 75 years, and celebrated on the weekend.
Through the 75-years in the city the Kinsmen volunteers have done yeoman’s work in supporting an incredibly long list of projects, all of which add to the fabric of the community.
However, even the venerable Kinsmen Club do not boast the membership it once did.
Volunteers are simply harder and harder to find.
That puts some onus on the younger generation of our city.
Communities need coaches for minor sports, people to be involved in service clubs and the good work they do, to run Sports Hall of Fames and local Arts Council and library boards.
Without people stepping up to fill such roles a lot of what we have come to expect as part of our community could be lost.
Hopefully everyone will take a good look in the mirror and decide if they can be one of those who steps forward to fill the shoes of all the able volunteers that have gone before.
