Helping others 9

“ ACCORDING to a survey
conducted by Statistics
Canada on giving, volun-
teerism is one of the four
main spheres of activity in
Canadian Society.

Each of these spheres, including
government, commercial and family,
is essential to our daily fivin

In fact, voluntary activity plays
such a unique role in society it has
often been described as the glue that
holds the- other three spheres of
activity, and hence society, together.

Not only does voluntecrism dis-
-“eover and articulate unmet needs in

. the community. it aiso provides a sat~
‘or people’s talents,

ambitions and concerns.
2, 2. Identifying who Canada’s volun-

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teers are, what they do, why they do

it, who the it for and what they

get out of it is essential to under-

standing the importance of this Jarge

and vital sphere of human activity.

Who are Canada’s volunteers?

@ They come from all walks of life

and represent a wide cross-section of

the Canadian populace.

@ Volunteer participation increases
h age until about mid-life.

@ One-quarter of ail Canada’s vol-

untcers are in the 35 to 44 year age

group.

@ Onc in five 15 to 19 year-olds and

elderly people volunteer.

@ Women are more fikely than men

to volunteer.

H The fikelihood of volunteering

increases with the level of education

gained — 46% of those with a uni-

versity degree are volunteers.

One in four Canadian volunteers
comes from a cultural background
other that English or French.

@ The rate of volunteering increases
with the level of household income

“The likelihood of
volunteering increases
with the level of

education gained..

— full-time workers account for

more than 75% of Canadian volun-

teers.

The extent of volunteer activity

@ More than one-quarter of all
rking age Canadians volunteer.
Jolunteers contribute an average

of 3.7 hours per week, or 191 hours
year for a combined yearly roral
+ one billion vojuntcer hours.
@ These volunteer hours translate
into 615,000 vears, equivalent to the
number of full-time paid workers in
Saskatchewan and New Brunswick
combined. +
@ Almost half of all volunteers work
for more than one organization, fill-
ing close to 10 million volunteer
positions a year.
@ Volunteers incur out-of-pocket
expenses to facilitate their volunteer
work — averaging $158 per person
and adding $842 million to our
spending stream.
What types of organizations do
volunteers work for?
Five main areas account for the
majority of volunteer activities:
@ religious organizations;

ou to our community
Volunteers

Fact:
Fact:

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lues society together

@ leisure, recreation and sports;

MH education and youth develop-

ment;

@ health organizations;

@ social services.

How do people become involved

in volunteering?

M@ 49% were asked by someone in a

v a untary organization. -
28% approached the organization,

were referred by a volunteer bureau,

or responded to a newspaper ad.

@ 13% were asked by someone they

know.

@ 5% work with related organiza-

tions or helped start the organiza-

tion.

Source: A Profile of the Canadian
Volunteer; A guide to the 1987 Survey
of Volunteer Activity in Canada, David
P. Ross and E. Richard Shillington.

olicing

There are over 40 volunteers
at each of the 3 community

policing centers.

We simply couldn’t do our

without you.

-EDGEMONT VILLAGE