General Chat

Looks for soap box

Our local county councillor has £10,000 for community project(s) if the volunteers to run it/them can be found. I am chairman of our village hall. Last night 4 out of 11 committee members showed up. Only two of the non-attenders bothered to send apologies. I have been looking for volunteers to help write a village plan. Only two people have come forward out of a population of over 6,000. Lots of people are prepared to say 'Why don't they do .......' or complain about what is done. This board a short time ago had a thread about PTAs and the lack of helpers. It has also had a thread about care for the elderly. Organisations like Age Concern can do a lot to help – if they get the volunteers! What are you all going to do about recruiting more volunteers? (Yes those over 45 who have learnt to use computers can volunteer and use/pass on their knowledge!) Clive

Hi Clive, Apathy can cost lives. I am part of a First Responders Group for the Ambulance Service. Our role as volunteers is to reach people with Life threatening conditions whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive. An ambulance can take up to 1 hour to reach an address, so our group is vital. But, there are only 10 of us, sharing a rota, trying to cover 24/7. We have tried and failed to recruit for the past 4 years. It's not that people are afraid of this work, although it's not for everyone, many will not commit time. Even a few hours / month would be acceptable. I was on our local Village Hall committee when I lived in that village, trying to raise money to refurbish it. That was 18 years ago... it's still the same as it was when I was a child. It's a thankless task. Tina x

Apathy extends to voting as well, at least in council elections. People often complain about their local council yet rarely vote. :-))

Clive I handed back my biro some years ago, after years of being on the PTA, and various other local organisations. It wasn't so much the apathy that got to me, it was the moaning! A few stalwarts, the same ones every time, gave up free time to organise events, which were then criticised (Oh, not another b****y raffle, said the man, who subsequently won the first prize). Once a year we cooked meal for 200 people - took all day, with prep, never mind the shopping) and tickets were at cost. They moaned about that too - they didnt like Roast Beef and didnt like the alternatives, and so on. I gave up eventually, as I could see we were fighting a losing battle. I used to live on a busy main road, and we always got rubish in our front gardesn, and on the pavement. My neighbour moaned about this and said the Council ought to clean up more often. One day I got so fed up with her, that in mid-moan, I went in and got my broom and swept about 400 yards of the pavement. She watched me open-mouthed.(But didnt go and get HER broom, lol) OC

Dandan that's funny, last year our Binnies proudly turned up in a brand new, state of the art bin lorry, which puffed out huge clouds of sickly lavender type perfume! There were so many complaints about it - it really was AWFUL - that they have gone back to using 'Eau de Binne' as the driver calls it, lol. OC

Clive, why not get the Councellor to spend a few quid of that money printing some leaflets and have them delivered to each house,Telling them 'They,ll Lose it if they don,t use it' It may work. Hal.

We used the village hall to put on a display. Over 100 people came. Said Good idea, best wishes, Good Bye. One person only volunteered his services. 27 said they will come to the next exhibition to see how progress is going! (Off to the dentist for repairs having gnashed my teeth too hard!!!) Clive

Clive Alternatively, put a notice in the local rag saying that as there has been no take up for the scheme, you and the rest of the committee are going off on a three week beano with the money. I have to admit though, that I am very unlikely to ever volunteer my services for anything again - it was such a thankless task. OC

Hi Clive , It,s like banging your head against a brick wall isn,t it . For the past three years have been Secretary to the Youth Group ( Finally managed to get a youth shelter in our village ) . A member of the village Hall Comittee, and organised a litter pick in the village for the last two years in aid of the youth group and the toddlers group. Also organised a Xmas party for the kids in our village 2 years ago to raise funds for the youth group. My 'kids are 20 and 16' .No one else wants to do the work an to be honest I think I,ve done my bit . Only lived here for 6 years ... Kim xxxx

I have been on P&C (PTA) committees, canteen committees, football canteen where parents moaned about helping because they were there to watch their children play, not help in the canteen. What about my children? I have been cornered by 5 fathers who insisted on giving me every grievance they could think of because I was the only committee member down at the field at that time. Now I am a volunteer with an organisation that raises money for and gives comfort to cancer patients and I work as a training co-ordinator for volunteers. This organisation has the most tireless workers I have ever come across. So there are some really good people out there. However, apathy is rife through most levels of society. Susan

I always had the philosophy that if I get something out of an organisation I should try to put something back in. Have been on quite a few committees. One organisation had committee meetings on a night that did not suit so I helped as and when required setting out chairs etc for meetings, or anything else that needed doing. Unfortunately with my OH getting Alzheimers I feel I must now keep my time free to cope with him as he gets worse, so have resigned from the committees I was on but am still prepared to help until such time as I am no longer free to do so.