Organizations around the country face setbacks, various challenges in recruiting volunteers
In this Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, photo, bell ringer Carolyn Harper points to two ways to donate via mobile device to the Salvation Army's annual holiday red kettle campaign on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Today is Giving Tuesday, a day when, after the post-Thanksgiving weekend of spending and shopping, people are encouraged to step back and think about and support the communities in which we live.That support can be financial, of course. But perhaps instead of giving money, you have volunteered your time to one of the many organizations working to make the world a better place.
There have been obstacles to volunteering efforts in the past few decades. Volunteering rates dropped after the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in another pullback … one from which some organizations are still recovering.
Some experts and leaders in this space join the program today to discuss the impacts of these changes and the overall state of volunteering in 2024.
GUESTS
Rebecca Nesbit
Professor of Nonprofit Management, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
Jana Fleming
Programs & Volunteer Coordinator, River Bend Food Bank
Katie Buckley
County Director, Illinois Extension Serving Livingston, McLean and Woodford Counties
Kenyon Sivels
Captain, Salvation Army of Champaign County