The COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 created a groundswell of generosity from many individuals in the Berkshires community. Nonprofits and other organizations saw an unprecedented burst of financial donations as people offered to volunteer their time to help respond to the needs created by the pandemic. This year is an entirely different story. These same organizations have seen a marked drop-off in donations and volunteering.
The shortage of volunteers is hampering all organizations and endangers much of the progress made last year. As Brenda Petell, director of volunteer engagement for Berkshire United Way, put it: “A significant volunteer shortage is constraining the activities of many organizations including those that focus on food insecurity, meeting other needs of distressed populations, and the theater arts.”
In April of this year, Feeding America, a national network of food banks, estimated that 12% of western Massachusetts residents were struggling with food insecurity, with COVID-19 increasing this percentage by 25%, to about 15% of our population. In fact, according to Andrew Morehouse, the executive director of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, these figures underestimate what they’re seeing on the ground, especially among children, the elderly, and people of color.
Mark Lefenfeld, co-president of Berkshire Bounty, commented on this increased need, saying that “While there was a huge outpouring of volunteer efforts last year, unfortunately that has changed. Sadly, this comes at a time when ongoing volunteer assistance is essential to continuing and maintaining the hard-won progress that has been achieved over the past 18 months. We are so grateful for all the work our volunteers have contributed, but our community really requires a re-energized volunteer commitment.”
Jay Weintraub, Berkshire Bounty co-president, said that, “While nobody knows exactly what’s causing the drop-off in volunteerism, the often-cited likely causes are: a) previously active volunteers are busy with summer vacations, family get-togethers, and other seasonal activities, b) people are going back to work and school, and c) the significant uptick in COVID Delta variant statistics has increased the hesitancy among previously active volunteers to continue those activities.”
Darlene Ellis from Berkshire Food Project said, “A lot of our volunteers are leaving to go back to work and school. It is scary.” Hayley Sumner from Berkshire HorseWorks said, “We can’t run all of our programs because we don’t have enough volunteers.” Similar comments were voiced by, among others, representatives from Berkshire Theatre Group, Barrington Stage Company, South Congregational Church, and Construct, Inc.
Volunteers themselves further exemplify the reasons more people should donate their time to organizations needing assistance. For example, longtime volunteer Peter Gale said, “I volunteer with Berkshire Bounty because it is important to help our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity. It’s easy to do, it doesn’t take much time, I enjoy the camaraderie with my fellow volunteers, and it feels good to do something meaningful for others.”
Your involvement will make a difference! If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact any of the following people:
Liana Toscanini: liana@npcberkshires.org
Brenda Petell: bpetell@berkshireunitedway.org
Mark Lefenfeld & Jay Weintraub: info@berkshire-bounty.org
