Not to be surprised that volunteering ha fallen since the pandemic?

[antelopevalley]

Since the pandemic ended, volunteering levels are far lower than they were before the pandemic.
I have a personal interest as I used to do lots of volunteering but no longer do and I am not sure I ever will again.
I have just seen a rise in selfishness and self-centredness and I no longer want to volunteer for local community projects to benefit those families who would not give a damn about me and my family.

I volunteered in a charity shop a few years ago so while I was waiting to start a new job I thought I would volunteer. The charity shops I asked in wanted me to fill in a job style application form and wanted a CV along with it, then if I was successful they said they would call me in for a chat. I had already gone through all that faff while job hunting for paid employment, they either want my help or not, I don't see how my CV is relevant!

Thing is people have to work harder than ever now, many people have no hope of retiring. People just want to spend what downtime they have with thier families. They just aren't going to spend thier weekends going through bags of donations etc.

I hear you! I work PT for a charity alongside my studies, and they are bloody clueless as to how basic their adverts are. It is just a flat list of (huge) asks, nothing to get excited by or feel worthy about as an applicant.

I've edited ads to nearer the standard of my own ads (previously senior recruiter), and they've turned down the improvements!

I would love to do a morning in a charity shop but realistically I need to obtain a second job to boost my struggling business. It is therefore something I hope to do when my state pension kicks in although I will still need to work I would hope by then I can squeeze the time in. Will have to see how it goes ....

The thing I volunteer for didn’t exist during the pandemic so that’s why I stopped. Started again as soon as the activity resumed though, despite my change in circumstances. But I don’t have any anger or resentment about it - it’s sports coaching.

Well quite.

I am one of these "Ms Random" people and I have LOTS better to do! I started volunteering as I have worked for myself, from home, for about 15 years and knew already what a lot of people have found out over the last 2 years - that being on your own at home all day without colleagues and with just a laptop is pretty isolating.

So I volunteer one morning a week. I am currently most of the way through a Masters, I'm not stupid. I have lots to offer and volunteering has taught me lots too.

But sneering at volunteers is pretty much a given on MN. Has anyone said that charity shop volunteers are just there to steal the donations as that's what's usually trotted out.

My volunteering stopped during the pandemic as it involved going into houses. It hasn't really restarted and my companion with whom I did it is moving away. So I shan't be going back.

I haven't voted as not sure which question you want us to answer.
YABU in your reason not to volunteer
but
YANBU in thinking that there are fewer volunteers at the moment than there have been in the years before the pandemic.

I think there is a complex mix of reasons, many of which have been mentioned already.

I volunteer as a school governor and one morning a week in a charity shop. I think I've been with the shop for a year but dispite being a graduate and computer programmer I have never been allowed to anything except sort clothes donations. Not price them, put them out on the shop, use the till - nothing except sort them. The shop has now sent all of the donations e Capt clothes to a central sorting hub so unless clothes donations come in there is nothing to do. I dont think people realise you need to something from volunteering be that friendship, new experiences or a sense of doing something worthy. My role is dull and always will be. There fore I dont see myself staying much longer.

Being governor on the other hand is extremely demanding and worthwhile. I have gained lots of new skills I wouldn't have got otherwise. Like being on a two day interview panel for a new HT. Vision planning etc.

It's sad but ultimately some paid staff managing volunteers are also a bit shit so cant hold onto staff. My dh thinks volunteering is a must game so I'm.sure lots of people hold that attitude. I like volunteering. But aside say, personally it's got to forfil some purpose for me too. Keeping a business running ( the school) is good enough reason.

Senior post volunteers is an interesting point too.

The trustees for my charity are absolutely a bunch of well-meaning do gooders. It's funny that that term is derogatory, but it's absolutely true. They don't remember even the barest details one meeting to the next, and don't perform any interrogation of the information that's put in front of them. (to be fair, the information that is put in front of them is hardly illuminating).

My husband is a trustee, and he is very surprised by the low standards of fellow trustees.

I consider myself a paid volunteer (essentially I am studying and working PT, but I actually have an excellent track record of managing my own companies - they're getting 60-75k of skills for 30k) and feel more like an undercover boss.

Hmm, interesting reading! I run a food bank. During covid we were inundated - we'd no sooner put up a shift sheet than fill it 2 or 3 times over. Literally, "Anyone free to collect a fridge from [100 miles away]?" would have multiple takers - I think people wanted a legitimate reason to leave the house tbh! And we're a wealthy area.

We retain a strong core of people who are like clockwork in the time they offer us - some even book their holidays so that they leave the day after "their" day iyswim. It's extraordinary and I suppose a sign that we're getting something right (I hope). We also have more service users volunteering with us, which to me is a good thing. But, like a PP noted, lots of retired people. I feel very fortunate to have their skills to draw on.

In addition to this role I used to volunteer with a local festival pre-covid. I didn't feel my time was particularly well-used - loads of boozy organising meetings most of the year round, which really isn't my cup of tea - so I've used changed family circumstances to cry off. On the fence about returning to that.

My friend signed up to volunteer at a festival & they were really excited to attend

Friend came down with a very bad cold (didn't test for covid) & sadly had to cancel

I've offered to volunteer at a number of places over the last few years. Nobody ever replies 🤷‍♀️

Sorry, not RTFT as there's over 100 comments but my immediate thoughts are that people either need to be doing paid work now, or the pensioners that were volunteering don't want to catch Covid/are scared of implications of catching Covid at their age. In my local town 90% of those working in charity shops etc look to be over 70, hence why I've come to that conclusion.

I am a serial volunteer. And had ended up taking responsibility for organising various community activities, mainly for local families. There were always those who took me and other volunteers for granted, but also many who appreciated what we did.
My husband is disabled and was cev during the pandemic as initially was one of my DCs. So I stopped volunteering and the activities did not run for a few weeks, and then were not legally allowed to run. Once they could legally run my DH was still shielding so I said I would not volunteer. The guilt tripping I have had from some parents about how their children were suffering from the activities no longer running was off the scale. Alongside that, on the area local facebook page some of the parents were the type saying that disabled people should just stay at home so everything could go back to normal.
I really can not forgive this. I decided at the time that I was never again running those activities as a volunteer. Although I always had loads of helpers, no one else wants to take on the responsibility as a volunteer, so none of the activities happen any longer.
Instead, I have taken on more hours of paid work and sometimes I wonder if I was a bit of a mug to do so much volunteering in the past.

Thank you for that! 🙄
I like to hope I've made a difference to the literally hundreds of children I've worked with in Scouting and school.

I also help out at the local Hospice, volunteers keep the costs down.

Incessant - that's really disappointing to read your experience of working in a charity shop; I manage a charity shop and hope to ensure that my volunteers have the best possible experience, and that I and my team can learn from their skills and talent... which will help our shop to make more money. Someone with computer skills would quickly be snapped up! Maybe try a different charity shop?

I have always volunteered in various roles myself but I do get the feeling that some people who manage volunteers have never actually been a volunteer themselves and have limited understanding of the role.

I have volunteered for many things in the past and still do, but, and it's a big but, it does not give me that fuzzy fuzzy feeling of giving something back. I do it because I feel I have to do my bit, this has mainly been helping with my kids' extra curricular activities. Perhaps I'm incredibly selfish, but once they move on, it's time for others to step up to the plate. I'm worn down by it and get nothing but hassle. Someone said upthread, if a job is worth doing then it's worth paying someone to do it. Whilst I don't agree entirely with that sentiment I do feel that so many jobs these days used to be paid jobs and volunteers are now being asked to fill the gap. I think when charity is relied on so much it causes the powers that be to turn a blind eye instead of sorting out the issues instead.

I also volunteered during the pandemic and felt thoroughly demoralised when I discovered that the family I was helping was totally taking the piss and taking advantage of me. It makes me reluctant to give up my time.

I had to do this a few years ago with a volunteer role, it was really painful having to say that I just couldn’t do it anymore. But people’s lives change, I was working with two young children so I had to say no. It was ridiculous, tbh.