Although the ranks of dedicated volunteers serving area non-profits provide countless amounts of dollars and hours, the need for altruism is never satisfied.
”I don`t think you can have too many volunteers,” said Nancy Kos, volunteer coordinator and director of special events at Park Lawn School, which serves developmentally disabled children and adults at its facility in Oak Lawn. ”There is always a place for someone.”
Sometimes only a certain type of volunteer can fill a need. Big Brother/
Big Sister of Will County provides role models for boys and girls.
”We need male volunteers. Minority volunteers would also be nice,” said Caren Kilroy, a case manager with the group. She said the organization most needs black male volunteers. ”We have quite a few black male children on our waiting list.
”I would like to see more men (volunteer). I think the reason men don`t volunteer as much is because they are hooked into working 9 to 5, and they`ve got kids of their own. They must feel they can`t donate any time,” Kilroy said. ”We get many more women. We just do.”
Finding volunteers is but a part of the battle to maintain charitable services.
”Working in a crisis center can be pretty intense,” said Carrol Schiffgens, executive director at the Crisis Center for South Suburbia in Tinley Park, a shelter and 24-hour hotline for victims of domestic violence.
”Every day it`s like an emergency room here with a lot of critical situations. . . . We need people to replace those who want a semester to take off. We constantly need to replenish hotline volunteers.”
Although some needs are not as critical, they are just as important. Foreign exchange students coming to America through AFS Intercultural Programs depend on volunteers; without them, the students` visits would be impossible. ”We`ve got students who are coming (next school year) and nowhere to put them,” said Karen Martin, program assistant for AFS in Evergreen Park. ”This is our worst time of the year. But we just find families. We just do it.”
Sometimes a lack of volunteers means that an area`s needs are not represented on the board of directors of a charitable organization.
”We have 23 directors, and our full board should be 30,” said Karl Swick, president of the United Way of Southwest Cook County. ”We need those from Hickory Hills and Palos Hills. We`ve done everything we know to do to get them. More board members would give us more ideas on what the needs of the community might be.”
