Hot
Topic Archive
February
2005
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After
the wave subsides
by
Andy Fryar
Director
& Founder, OzVPM
In
last month's Hot Topic column I wrote about the significant
voluntary efforts being poured into the Asian region
to aid those countries suffering the effects of the
tsunami disaster which occurred on December 26, 2004.
Since writing
that column, the pace has not let off.
Charitable
giving in Australia has echoed that of the international
community, with both the private sector and individual
citizens giving more than ever before. For example,
a charity cricket match in Melbourne raised no less
than eleven million dollars, while national commercial
television and radio networks joined forces to host
a telethon titled 'Australia Unites' which raised
a further $72 million. Even the Australian government
pitched in with nothing less than a one billion dollar
relief package - the largest in our nation's history.
Volunteering
has also been high on the agenda. Relief agencies
such as the Red Cross, World Vision and Australian
Volunteers International have been inundated with
offers of assistance for both 'on-the-ground' roles
in places like Phuket and Sri Lanka and home based
roles back here in Australia . Never before have Australians
felt such a desire to give 'en masse'.
But
what are the likely long term outcomes of such an
outpouring of generosity? Should we, in the volunteerism
community celebrate this acknowledgement of the vital
work of volunteers and the not-for-profit community,
or should we be concerned about the some of the potential
longer term consequences that may occur?
Let's
start by examining the many donations of both money
and goods that has occurred on such a monumental basis.
Australians, by nature, are generous people and the
Asian disaster has again demonstrated just what large
hearts we all have. However, has the giving to the
tsunami crisis been an extraordinary response to an
unprecedented crisis, or is it simply the reallocation
of donations usually ear marked for other charities?
What
will be the longer term financial impact on community
based volunteer driven organisations such as the local
animal shelter, football club or hospital Auxiliary?
Will these groups be met with the response, "sorry,
but I already gave to the tsunami disaster" when they
stick out their hands for donations later in the year
? Will there be a noticeable decline in the donation
of second hand goods through organisations such as
St Vincent de Paul stores or Salvation Army Op Shops
as these goods are redirected directly to those in
Asia ? I know already of one organisation which has
had several regular donors inform them that they will
direct their donations elsewhere, at least for the
short term. What will be the impact of this for both
the organisations and the volunteers operating these
second hand stores?
The
events of September 11, 2001 have already established
a precedent, where there was a noticeable decline
in general charitable giving after the initial outpouring
to support the relief operations. I for one would
suggest that we may well see the same trends here
in Australia come the second half of 2005 and beyond.
And
what of volunteering?
Firstly,
one thing we do know is that a tragedy of this magnitude
often acts as the catalyst that gets people, who may
have been thinking about volunteering, off of their
backsides and into the fray!
The
reports coming from agencies such as Red Cross, World
Vision and any other agency with even a slight tsunami
related mission, would suggest that is exactly what
is happening. But what are the longer term impacts
for the availability of volunteers to non-tsunami
related charities?
Although
anecdotal, I distinctly remember that following the
International Year of Volunteers (IYV) in 2001, there
appeared to be a much smaller pool of new volunteers
applying for positions at the beginning of 2002. This
trend seemingly continued right into 2003 before returning
to what might be described as 'pre IYV' levels. One
theory behind this is that the extra promotion of
volunteering opportunities that occurred throughout
IYV (and the Sydney Olympics), actually prompted those
who had been thinking about joining a volunteer group
to do exactly that. This is certainly not a bad thing,
it's just that the ongoing promotion of volunteering
that occurred during IYV spurred an action which normally
would have occurred over a longer period; hence leaving
a lesser pool of willing candidates after the year
was over.
Maybe
the tsunami disaster too will signal a similar effect
- a noticeable decrease over the coming months of
new volunteer applicants as a result of the heightened
levels of activity happening now.
But
perhaps I'm being all a little too pessimistic with
my predictions.
One
thing that the tsunami has certainly helped to highlight
has been the absolutely critical role that volunteers
do play - not only in times of international disaster
- but in everyday life. So just maybe, out of this
tragedy we may witness a new momentum for future volunteerism
around the world. This was certainly the case in Japan
in 1995 following the magnitude 7 earthquake that
hit Kobe , killing some 6,400 people. It has been
well documented that the largest legacy to come out
of that disaster was a new found understanding of
just what citizen participation in activities like
volunteering could achieve.
Ultimately
only time will tell what the long term effect of this
latest tragedy will have on both financial and physical
giving. I certainly don't pretend to have the solutions,
but I do have some of the questions which will someday
have an answer.
Let's
hear what you think?
- Do you agree with all (or any)
of these sentiments?
- Are there other important points
emerging from the tsunami disaster we have not touched
on as yet?
- What trends do you think will emerge?
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not too late to...
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