SUMMER 2009 EDITION
JOBS»
Volunteerism rising as some look for work
Valerie Mosley/STAFF
Nancy Summers rings up customer Chris Bogg at the Wishing Well gift shop at Columbia Regional Hospital on July 14. When Summers began volunteering here and at University Hospital she hoped it would turn into full-time employment. So far, she has secured a part time job at University Hospital and still volunteers at Columbia Regional and the VA Medical Center.
COLUMBIA — As family members visit their recovering loved ones, a woman diligently works in the gift shop at Columbia Regional Hospital.
More than four years ago, Nancy Summers was working in a retail store. Now she works in another shop but no longer receives a paycheck. She has been a volunteer at the hospital since 2006 after being laid off from her retail job the year before.
Many are making a similar decision — choosing to volunteer their time while the job market gives them no breaks. Summers, who also works the information desk on some days, volunteers at Truman Veterans Hospital and works part time at University Hospital.
Although she works a part-time job, Summers said she spends more time volunteering.
"I have taken more hours for volunteering because I do not have a full-time job," she said. "I would fall into whatever (volunteer opportunities) I could get. I needed things to do. I had more time than I had things to do."
After her retail job, Summers earned her bachelor's degree in business administration. She also has a medication aide license that once allowed her to work in residential care. Although she enjoyed helping people, she said she would rather have a position in business.
"I have been looking in business administration but just not finding much," she said. "It is really hard to find a job because there is a lot more competition now."
Summers, 49, said it is frustrating when employers search for younger employees who can spend 20 to 30 years working for them.
"I used to apply and get a job right away," Summers said. "It's really not that way anymore."
Although times look bleak, Summers has hope.
"I want to be doing full-time human resource work," she said. "There are times when I think it may be hard. One, it's my age, and two, it's the competition. There are a lot of young people in this town."
Dave Langer, a part-time U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, also feels the effects of the economy. A former employee at a plumbing company, Langer had planned to volunteer after retiring years from now, but now he volunteers just to stay connected to the community. He recently helped build a shed for gardening equipment at a high school.
"These are tough times, but I believe we all have a choice about how we deal with it," he said. "We can be selfish and gripe about it and mope around, or we reach down inside ourselves and by giving to others, heal ourselves."
Leigh Britt, volunteer coordinator for the city of Columbia's Volunteer Services, has noticed an increase in the number of contacts interested in volunteering. From Jan. 1, 2008, to July 1, 2008, 347 new volunteers contacted Volunteer Services, which connects workers to volunteer opportunities.
During that time period this year, 411 people contacted Volunteer Services, an 18.4 percent increase. While the economy may have some part in that increase, Britt credits another source.
"I believe the economy wasn't the only reason," she said. "President Obama and his wife have set a good example and people still had that excitement from the election."
Whatever happens, Langer said he knows it is out of his hands.
"I don't handle the economy," he said. "It is what it is. I handle myself by trying my best to live right."