The value of volunteers

By Evelyn C. McDonald

April 24, 2018 10:00 p.m.

Volunteers are the fuel that drives the non-profit world. Non-profit organizations would never have the budgets to hire staff to do what passionate volunteers do for them each year. That became once again clear to me when I went to a luncheon that the Friends of the Library (FOL) held on Tuesday to honor their volunteers.

Chuck Comeau, FOL president, provided some interesting statistics. Friends of the Library volunteers donated 4263 hours of time this past year. Nearly half went to the book sales and another 25% to time spent supporting activities within the Fernandina Branch Library. The remaining hours went to the Story Slams, Cookie Tours, art shows in the Fernandina Branch Library community room, and board meetings.

What does this mean in concrete terms? You can look at it in two ways. First, there is a monetary value. Independent Sector.org is a website that has studied volunteerism and what it contributes. They have determined a dollar value for each hour volunteered nationally and by state. That national estimate says that each volunteer hour is worth $24.69. Thus, for the FOL, those 4263 hours translate to $105,253.47 in terms of value to our community.

You can also look at value in less financial terms. Our library staff employed by the county is less than it was, both in terms of full-time and part-time workers. The 1125 hours that volunteers put in at the library helps assure that books are catalogued, shelved, and available. It assures that children’s’ reading programs continue to be available and attended by an increasing number of children. It provides needed assistance to Fernandina Beach citizens for tax preparation assistance, passports and other services. Given the library operating budget, these services would be seriously impacted without volunteers.

On a personal note, I volunteer as a cashier at the book sales. I like to meet the challenges to my arithmetic skills, which need to be challenged. I’ve noticed a huge increase in attendees over the years I’ve been doing the job. The first indication was when the economy tanked during the 2008 financial crisis. Being able to buy books at bargain rates brought out more people to the sales. We are a community of readers.

Volunteers are vital and believe me, they are appreciated. Any local organization that I have joined has always been vocal in the appreciation of their volunteers. If there’s a non-profit organization that’s doing something you enjoy and you are not a volunteer, reach out and see what you can do for them. There are a variety of jobs – one time and ongoing. You’ll meet like-minded people and give something back to the community.

Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. Evelyn is vice-chair on the Amelia Center for Lifelong Learning and is on the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.